Graduate volunteer to become conservation leader

An adventurous volunteer from Kenya is among the first conservationists to embark on a special masters programme at the University of Cambridge.

Joy Juma is one of the first cohort of graduate students on the MPhil in Conservation Leadership course, the Cambridge News reports.

After graduating Ms Juma spent 12 months undertaking voluntary work for the East African Wildlife Society, based in Kenya.

"I worked on the restoration of a lake that straddles the boundary between Kenya and Tanzania, and during this time I gained essential skills and experience," she told the news provider.

Having excelled as a volunteer and demonstrated her skills in coordinating projects, Ms Juma was offered a post with Fauna & Flora International, working as a programme assistant.

Since then she has been promoted to the role of programme coordinator and now looks forward to becoming a conservation leader of the future.

Last week, Robbie Newton, 20, from Edinburgh, told the Scotsman he was fundraising ahead of a voluntary work trip to Namibia.

Mr Newton, who has Asperger syndrome, has already carried out around 1,000 hours of volunteering activities with young people in the Scottish capital.

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