A Maidstone student will be taking her fight against poverty to the global stage, after being selected as an ambassador for an international charity.

As part of her role, 19-year-old Maisie Wood will be going to Parliament to meet key ministers and officials on behalf of the ONE Campaign, and is also planning a trip to lobby MEPs in Brussels.

She and her fellow youth ambassadors are tasked with building support for international development, calling on world leaders to end extreme poverty and preventable disease – particularly in Africa.

As well as highlighting the good that international aid does, Miss Wood will be calling for more action on girls’ education in the world’s poorest countries and for the UK to continue leading the world-wide fight against corruption.

As part of her work, she has invited Maidstone and the Weald MP Helen Grant to meet her in Westminster on International Women’s Day next month in a bid to secure her support.

The politics and international relations student, who lives in Holland Road, applied for the scheme after volunteering at orphanages in Kenya in 2015.

She told the Kent Messenger: “The provisions there were so basic and it was difficult and emotional to witness.

“At one of the orphanages there were 30 kids, from babies to teenagers, who had just one small room to sleep in and another where they ate, played and everything else.

“It wasn’t the kind of thing I felt I could just walk away from after one month, and I feel by doing this I will really be making a difference.

“I am delighted to have been chosen to be a ONE youth ambassador, and am so excited to continue campaigning for a fairer and more stable world.”

This is the fourth year the programme has run in the UK, and the second year that Miss Wood has been selected as part of it.