A WILPSHIRE man is jetting off to Africa in the new year to spend three months helping to improve communities.

Adam Wright, 23, decided to take the trip after struggling to find a full-time job after graduating from Manchester University in the summer.

The former Pleckgate High School and Clitheroe Royal Grammar School pupil will fly to Sierra Leone on January 29 and will be working with the Voluntary Services Overseas charity.

Adam, who graduated in medical virology in Sept-ember, is hoping to teach communities how to manage their agricultural land effectively and to help those from disadvantaged backg-rounds.

He has also been allocated a project which involves working with children affected by the civil war in the 1990s and using sport and workshops to help teach them skills related to jobs.

He will be living with a host family during the trip and will also organise community action days.

Adam has already raised £480 for the charity and is aiming to reach £800 before he leaves.

Ahead of the 3,000-mile trip to West Africa, he said: “I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve never been there before.

“I’m sure it will be a fantastic experience and I hope I get to make a difference.

“I’ve struggled to find a job since graduating and I thought that doing some charity work would be a great thing to get involved with.

“I don’t really know what to expect when I get out there but I think it’s very important to take part in this sort of work.

“The charity does amazing work and I hope to make an impact myself.

“There will be about eight of us in the group going out there and I’ve never met them before.”

If you would like to sponsor Adam, visit www.justgiving.

com/adamwrightSL