AN Ottery St Mary church-goer sets off on a trip to Uganda today as part of a project helping disadvantaged people.

AN Ottery St Mary church-goer sets off on a trip to Uganda today as part of a project helping disadvantaged people in the South West.

Rachel Sanders, who has been going to the town's United Reformed Church for 15 years, jetted off with five volunteers from impoverished backgrounds and will perform charitable work in the African country over the next two weeks.

Mrs Sanders works for the Christian Alliance Housing Association who provide direct community support for the homeless and through this has set up the charity TABS International which has organised the trip.

Mrs Sanders, who worked on charity schemes in Africa on eight occasions, said: "The first time I went out in 2002 I Was impressed, moved and distressed by what I saw. I also noticed that there was a huge connection between what was happening there and what we do in the UK. The volunteers we are taking have lived in poverty all their lives and have never even travelled to London let alone go abroad or even flown on a plane. Their motivation has always been to be able to give something back and make a difference."

"They have achieved so much already and have done brilliantly. They raised £1600 between them and the preparation alone has been massively beneficial to them. Now for them to spend time with people from a different culture and deal with obvious things like the heat, food and even toilet systems will be a big challenge."

The trip is TABS International's second to the continent. The URC in Ottery have contributed to the cause through various fundraising events.