Jersey Overseas Aid is inviting islanders who have taken part in its volunteering trips to help it celebrate its 50th anniversary.

The commission wants them to share their memories, photos, and videos.

Around 1,000 Jersey volunteers have helped some of the world's poorest communities.

Richard Richomme led seven trips and was awarded a British Empire Medal in 2019 for his voluntary work;

"They first sent me out as a technical adviser to Kenya in 2006, and I never looked back from there. It has been an absolute joy to work through the planning and implementation stages of all the projects that Jersey Overseas Aid have launched during those 15 years that I have been involved in.

My first trip, we went out with a news reporter, a postman, a dentist, a nurse, two or three people from the finance industry, and myself with an army and construction background.  We were a really diverse bunch, and we're still in touch today."

The Community Work Projects programme has completed more than 100 projects since 1972, including the building of schools and community centres, and the construction of dams an water pumps.

"It's the differences those schools make, those clinics make, that water makes. .. These Jersey teams have actually improved the health and hygiene within these communities."

In 2022, JOA hopes to send two groups of volunteers to undertake Community Work Projects.

The first group will be flying out to Kenya in June to work with JOA’s partner, Excellent Development, building sand dams in the South of the country.

The second group will be travelling to Nepal to work alongside local charity, the Gurkha Welfare Trust Jersey, later in the year.

Each group usually consists of around 12 volunteers and an experienced team leader.  

Volunteers contribute towards their travel expenses and the JOA funds the additional costs of the trip, ad well as materials and supplies for the projects.