AN APPRENTICE telecoms engineer from Portishead is preparing for a charity trip overseas.

Jake Atwood is planning to swap his post with BT for a Challenge Worldwide project, aimed at helping to relieve poverty in Africa.

The 20-year-old will spend three weeks working with a team of like-minded apprentices from a number of organisations, which, like BT, support the scheme.

Working alongside villagers from the Kibera slums in Kenya, the group of volunteers will help refurbish a school which is in danger of collapsing. They will also help plan and fund a school lunch scheme for a year and put a staffing and maintenance programme in place.

The group will then move on to help the Makat community (Maasai) in Tanzania. Their plans are to help install a rainwater conservation system to provide safe drinking water at a school, install a solar panel at a health clinic and get involved in a testing study on cattle.

Jake is in the process of raising �3,500 which is expected of each volunteer who takes up the challenge. He has already collected more than �1,000 and his next fundraising event is a race night at Clarence House in Portishead High Street on July 27 at 7.30pm.

Anyone wanting to support Jake can donate by visiting www.charitygiving.co.uk/jakeattwood1

To find out more about his forthcoming fundraising events call him on 07970 501572.