Step into the gap: CAFOD Gapper gets ready for Sierra Leone

A London-born Youth Volunteer has swapped the cold of Brighton for the sun of Sierra Leone on a visit to West Africa.

Laurence Davighi, 22, from Wanstead - who volunteers with Cardinal Newman School, Brighton – has packed his bags and headed to West Africa as part of CAFOD’s Step into the Gap programme.

Travelling with seven other young volunteers from across the UK, Laurence will visit CAFOD-funded projects in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown. From there the group will travel inland to the cities of Makeni and Kenema where they will observe more CAFOD partner programmes, including agricultural projects, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and also some Justice and Peace projects.

On his return, He will share his experiences of Sierra Leone with young people from across the UK.

Listen to Laurence talking to BBC Essex about his trip:

When asked what it is about CAFOD that excites him, Laurence said: “CAFOD works in all sorts of ways, from responding to disasters to supporting long term development projects. The amount of work that they do in all sorts of places is very, very exciting. CAFOD reaches out to a huge variety of people.

“I’ve been taught and I know in my heart that to be a Christian is not just going to Church - it’s actually taking your faith outside … showing that you care and that you bring love to everyone not just your own close community.”

Apply for Step into the gap

CAFOD's Step into the gap scheme offers young people an opportunity to live out their faith both in the UK and overseas. We work with five UK based partners to offer our gappers the chance to get into youth ministry, but the scheme also takes you to some of the world's poorest countries to witness CAFOD's work first hand.

We're currently accepting applications for next year's programme - find out more and apply on our CAFOD Gap year pages>>