On Christmas Day a young volunteer from Box swapped the traditional roast turkey and potatoes for dal bhat and roti in Nepal.

Rather than celebrating with family and friends, Olivia Baxter, 19, is spending the festive season working on a project supporting Nepali youth to improve their livelihoods and earn a decent living.

Olivia is living with a host family whilst in Nepal, in order to fully immerse herself into the culture and to better understand the challenges faced by the local community. She is also working alongside a Nepali counterpart, Sona Lama Tamang, 23.

Olivia said: “At first I was quite nervous at the prospect of spending Christmas away from home, but as it draws closer I don’t feel as though I’m missing out. To be away from home is hard at times, but everyone has been so welcoming and kind that it makes up for it. It’s also really interesting to talk to neighbours and our Nepali counterparts about Christmas and how they celebrate (or don’t celebrate) it.

"On Christmas Day, I’ll get to celebrate with all the other volunteers from the UK and Nepal which will be really fun. We’ve organised a Secret Santa, so even though we’re not with our families there will be presents and an air of celebration.”

Olivia’s Nepali counterpart Sona said: “Working with volunteers from the UK is great. I’m learning lots of new skills including sticking to a timeframe, being structured in our approach to planning and working as part of a team.”

Olivia travelled to Nepal in November with youth development organisation Restless Development as part of the UK government funded International Citizen Service programme.

She said: “I applied for ICS after searching for volunteering programmes, as I knew I wanted to volunteer abroad. I was struggling to find something which had a positive impact on the community and focused on personal development, and then I found ICS. The focus on cultural immersion and community development in such interesting areas really appealed to me and I knew it was something I wanted to apply for. I am also considering a career in international development so wanted to gain a greater understanding by working in a community overseas myself.”

As one of the world’s poorest countries, a quarter of Nepali people live on less than $1.25 a day, and millions are still recovering from a series of devastating earthquakes in 2015.

ICS volunteers spend three months working on projects in developing countries in Africa and Asia. Since 2012, ICS has enabled more than 17,000 young people from the UK to volunteer overseas. Before leaving for Nepal, Olivia fundraised £1500 which will ensure that communities in developing countries continue to benefit from the work of volunteers.

On her return to the UK, Olivia will complete an Action At Home project, ensuring that her new skills will also benefit the community in Box.

Felicity Morgan, director of ICS, said: "At this traditional time for generosity and giving, Olivia has chosen to spend Christmas and New Year away from home making a difference on the other side of the world. At ICS we’re incredibly proud that UK aid is enabling young volunteers to tackle poverty in some of the world’s poorest communities. We’d like to thank Olivia and her team for their hard work and wish them all a merry Christmas in Nepal.”

ICS placements are available for departure from April 2019, and 18 to 25 year olds from Box Village and surrounding areas are encouraged to apply. To find out more, please visit www.volunteerics.org.