A STUDENT who took a gap year to figure out what he wanted for his future used the time to do voluntary work overseas.

Chris Brown, from Spennymoor, in County Durham, spent three months in the Central Asian country of Tajikistan on a project that helps women find new strength in business.

Through the International Citizen Service, which gives 18 to 25-year-olds the chance to develop while fighting poverty abroad and in the UK, he secured a placement with Voluntary Services Overseas.

Along with other young volunteers, he received business training from the National Association of Business Women in Tajikistan to help female entrepreneurs set up and expand their own businesses to become self sufficient.

He said: “The culture there is that women don’t really work, they are often married off young and fulfil the housewife role cooking, cleaning and raising children.

“You cannot go into another country and challenge its culture and traditions but for women who want to we encouraged and supported them to make a success of their business, to find their life purpose.”

The 19-year-old’s team worked with a married mother called Mahrudon who had set up a children’s nursery next to her home, in rural Kistakuz, an hour’s drive from the city of Khujand.

They helped her decorate the building, find learning materials, introduce a curriculum and timetable and promote the nursery.

He said: “I didn’t realise at first how much difference the smallest bit of help could make, putting up posters and organising an open day so parents could see what the kindergarten had to offer really helped.

“We helped her raise the numbers from six to 30 children and it now employs another person, a teacher who speaks some English.

“Hopefully that will make a huge difference to her life, her family and the community.”

Mr Brown said the trip was a huge benefit to him personally, enriching his life experiences and skills to make him more rounded and hopefully more employable in future.

After his year out he decided to study criminology at Nottingham Trent University and moved there this week, with a view to a career in the police force.

He said: “I’d recommend it to any young person.

“It is an excellent experience and you feel good about the work you do.”

The former chorister held concerts at Durham Cathedral and Sage Gateshead and busked in Durham City to raise £800 for ICS before the trip.