Club Meeting 1pm - Ruth Clark

PRESIDENT Bill Deans welcomed ten other members and one guest - a young Cardross woman who was flying out that evening to be a volunteer team leader in Nicaragua for six months.

Hermitage Academy former pupil Ruth Clark (23), daughter of former Helensburgh St Andrew's Kirk minister and Rotary Club president the Rev David Clark and his wife Kate, is starting her second term as a volunteer in a Central American country.

The fashion management graduate from Robert Gordon's University in Aberdeen previously spent three months in Bolivia as an International Citizen Service volunteer.

"I enjoyed it so much that I decided to apply for a second term, this time as a team leader," she said.

"I am really proud to be part of the ICS scheme, and I hope to have a very positive experience in Nicaragua - where it will be 30 degrees!"

A few hours before leaving, Ruth told club members about her Bolivia experience and her hopes for her next trip. She was presented with a £100 grant towards her costs by the club president, a fellow Cardross resident.

Ruth said that ICS, a scheme which is backed by the Government, tries to harness the skills and ideas of young people to help the people of developing countries.

So far 10,000 British volunteers, aged 18 to 25, have worked in 31 different countries all over the world.

The three main objects are to develop the skills of young people, make a positive impact on host communities, and create active citizens.

"I enjoyed my work in Bolivia, which is one of the poorest countries in the region," she said. "It has a population of 10.67 million people, and 45% of them live on less than two dollars a day."

Her job was to facilitate workshops on topics such as cervical and breast cancer, anaemia, and diet and nutrition. Each was attended by up to 30 local mothers.

She and her fellow volunteers also helped parents and families manage their finances.

She said: "The minimum age to be allowed to work there is just ten, so many youngsters are sent out to work. We tried to persuade families to put money aside so that the children could go to school instead of working."

The volunteer group, who lived with local families and had undertaken a crash course in Spanish, the language of Bolivia, worked as individuals from Monday to Thursday, and on Fridays met as a group to discuss issues.

She said: "We also worked together on projects from building a greenhouse to painting a mural. With a big group we could get a lot done in a morning or afternoon."

In Nicaragua's northern province she will lead a team undertaking similar work, but will also be involved in a new element called ICS Entrepreneur.

In that area the main issues are drug trafficking and gangs, Ruth said. The new project is to try to offer work opportunities to the young people so that they do not go down the drugs route.

"It has been running for six months, and already 300 young people have been involved in workshops on writing business plans and creating businesses."

The vote of thanks was proposed by past president Jack Rudram, who has been closely involved in the Young Enterprise project in Dunbartonshire.

He told her: "I have been really impressed by the breadth of activities undertaken. It sounds like a really good scheme."

Ruth then made the draw for the club's weekly raffle for a whisky miniature, and drew out Jack Rudram's name. He gallantly passed the miniature to Ruth.

Earlier the president passed round a sheet for the joint Burns Night with the Garelochside club on Tuesday January 27 in the Rosslea Hall Hotel at Rhu. The club will be represented by eight people, and Bill will email them when the dress code is confirmed.

Youth Service convener Adam Muggoch advised that a new Young Baker competition staged by the club will be held at Hermitage Academy on Tuesday February 3, and four days later the Helensburgh winners of the Young Musician competition with take part in the District 1230 finals at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow.