Volunteers’ Farewell

Eighteen enthusiastic British and Syrian young people who have given more than 6000 hours’ work to make a lasting impression on Glasgow, said farewell to the city – and they left with a taste for one of its most famous exports – Irn Bru.

A special leaving event in Trinity Church, Govanhill, was attended by all those who provided bed and board to the volunteers and by people from the projects where they had worked.

Rhoanna Law, Communications Officer for Global Exchange which runs the volunteer programme, said: ‘They enjoyed traditional Syrian fayre washed down with Irn Bru! They had a lovely time in Glasgow and the farewell evening was a chance for everyone to see what a great impact they had made in local communities.’

A ceilidh allowed the volunteers to put other skills they had learned to good use.

They are now in Syria for three months doing similar community service.

In their time in Glasgow, the volunteers painted the Central mosque, cleaned up the streets around Woodlands, planted trees in Toryglen, worked with the Govanhill Youth Project and Govan’s Luv project.

Run by the international development charity VSO and the British Council, Global Exchange aims to bring young people aged 18 to 25 together to make a useful contribution to the communities they are living in.

After completing their work in Aleppo, Syria, the volunteers will return home better able to support their own communities with the skills they have learned.