A SWINDON expert on protecting children from abuse will share her knowledge with African organisations in a bid to help them support young abuse victims.

She is one of two Swindon College student teachers travelling to the Gambia next month, as part of a two week trip aimed at sharing experience with local schools and groups.

Jess John and Carol Barreto Urrutia, who are studying for their PGCE teaching qualification at Swindon College, will leave for Africa in May - together with a small group from Oxford Brookes University.

Carol, a language teacher at New College, will visit the University of Gambia and exchange teaching resources and methods. She also plans to take along children’s clothing to donate to local communities.

Jess, who works with the borough council’s child protection team, is due to visit Gambian groups tasked with tackling youth offending, supporting drug users and helping victims of female genital mutilation.

“We aim to visit and educate schools, children, parents and law enforcement organisations about these issues and will do this by having placements in these settings for the duration of the two weeks and providing training courses, lessons and resources,” said Jess.

“From our research, these settings are extremely lacking in resources so we are also hoping to raise some money in order to fund resources we can take with us and provide them to the settings who require them most.”

To donate to Jess and Carol’s resources bid, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/PGCEafrica.