A student has made a ‘bittersweet’ return to the UK after spending 10 weeks volunteering in South Africa.

Former Highsted Grammar pupil Abi Nelson worked in creches in the township of Embo near Durban for an organisation called Focus on iThemba, which is supported by South African charity Zoe-life.

She helped them meet government standards so they could become early childhood development centres, which would qualify them for grants and help them become self-reliant businesses.

The 22-year-old also spent time looking after the children, many of whom were orphans, who came from single-parent families or were being raised by siblings because their parents were trying to provide for them in other ways.

During her first week she was taught how to speak some of the isiZulu language and she also picked up snippets from the youngsters.

She said: “It was a lot of fun. It was stretching at times, but it was a lot of fun.

“I loved immersing myself in the culture. It was so great to learn from the in-country volunteers.

“I think I have got a better understanding of other cultures and what poverty looks like in different forms.

“So often, when we see poverty in adverts or on television you never see the actual person’s story, and it was so nice to actually meet people and get alongside them and help them in whatever they were doing.”

She stayed in a hostel in the village of Botha’s Hill, which also functioned as a health promotion centre.

She lived with 30 other volunteers, including around 10 from South Africa.

The Minster resident arrived back in the UK on September 18.

She said: “It was bittersweet. It was nice to see my family, but it was difficult to leave those friends behind.”

She plans on going out again next year to visit the pals she made, but first she has to finish the final year of her master’s degree in civil engineering.

She hopes one day to use this to help supply clean water in developing countries.

Miss Nelson raised £800 she needed to go on the trip with the help of Community Church Sheppey, where she is a member of the congregation.

She became involved in the project through Christian charity Tear Fund, which works with the International Citizen Service, a government-funded project to encourage more young people to volunteer abroad.