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True experience
Two Coventry teenagers now have been helped by Connexions to take part in an overseas volunteering programme. Cousins Janelle Symons and Kirstie Arrol, both aged 19, travelled to India and South Africa through the Platform2 programme, which provides a free 10-week placement to people aged 18-25 who would not otherwise get the chance to volunteer abroad. Janelle visited the village of Himachal Pradesh in north India and worked at the local school, teaching classes of children aged five-11, whilst Kirstie worked on a reservation near Cape Town. Both girls, who live in the Bell Green area of Coventry, are busy making plans for their future and have university and college courses in their sights. They say the life-changing experience would not have happened if it wasn’t for their local community learning centre. The former Foxford School pupils regularly visited the New Deal for Communities funded Eburne Neighbourhood Learning Centre in Wood End, Coventry for advice on job-seeking and training opportunities. Personal Adviser Linda Stevenson-Smith, who is seconded to the project from Connexions, recognised the girls’ potential and encouraged them to apply for the Platform2 programme.