The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Student to spend summer in Nigeria teaching farming
An Aberdeen student is moving to Nigeria this summer to teach impoverished communities how they can earn a living by farming.
Immunology student Isla McLeod, 21, will travel to the city of Minna in June.
From there, she will work in the region’s rural villages as part of a programme run by Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO).
She said: “With oil on the down they need to look at alternatives, and farming is what they’re trying to push.
“Lots of people don’t have the facilities to set up their own businesses, so we are going to teach them how to get into farming properly.
“We’ll show them how to run a business, communicate with customers and gain business connections with people in the city.
“We will mainly be in schools teaching kids how to do this, and enable a better future for their whole community.”
Miss McLeod will spend three months in Nigeria, living with a host family throughout her stay.
“There’s no electricity in the village, or even running water, so we will have to drink from sterile bags of water,” she said. “It’s going to be quite the culture shock but it will be worth it.
“A lot of people take it all for granted so it will be a good refresher and I think it will put everything in perspective for me.”
The 21-year-old first became interested in voluntary work when she needed major surgery as a child.
She said: “When I was younger I had quite a lot of medical conditions and I needed a spinal fusion, where they break your spine and put in metal rods.
“I was quite poorly and it made me want to help others, and all across the world there are people needing help.”
After the summer, Miss McLeod will complete her fourth year of immunology at the University of Aberdeen.
She said: “Most likely I’ll be wanting to go into international development and do work like this but using my immunology background.”
She is in the process of raising £800 in order to go on the trip.
“The donations will all be going to VSO,” she said.
“It’s so that they can afford to pay for people to go away, and enables anyone from all walks of life to do this.
“It could also go towards visas or help people in the communities to buy agricultural or school equipment.”
Donations can be made at justgiving.com/fundraising/ isla-mcleod