A LOCAL woman who travelled to some of the poorest areas of South Africa has been talking about her visit.

Sarah Maguire, who works for Barclays Wealth credit operations in the Island, visited the country with local charity BallaAfrica last month.

The charity was set up in 2008 by local teacher Johan Loubser to help some of the poorest communities in the world.

Sarah and a group of six others travelled to South Africa, at their own cost, to undertake voluntary work in some of the townships and camps most in need.

She said: "Travelling to South Africa is one of the best experiences of my life. Although the two weeks proved to be hard work and emotionally difficult at time, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in this fascinating country."

BallaAfrica had already funded the construction of a community centre, accommodation, craft area and sports hall on the outskirts of Bronkhorstspruit, where the group stayed.

Sarah continued: "From this base we visited the townships in the area and in particular the home of an amazing lady called Adelaide who helped look after orphans in her home and provided them with food and drink before they went to school.

"We also visited a squatter camp where conditions were a lot worse. Sixty people lived in the camp with only one toilet and shower between them. We handed out the clothes, food and toys we had brought with us which were kindly donated by friends, family and colleagues as well as local businesses."

The group also worked on a project in a nursery where they repainted the playground equipment and provided 12 children with a new set of clothes and shoes. They also visited people living with AIDS.

Sarah said: "There were a number of people we met who were living with AIDS that we were also able to help through donations of clothes and food.

"We met a 26 year old woman who is suffering from AIDS and looking after a young son. We decided that we would sponsor her to ensure she is able to afford the food and medication she needs to look after herself and her son."

The Barclays Wealth Charity Committee donated £3,000 to be used towards projects identified by the charity.

Chairman of the committee, Stuart Nelson, said: "Staff members in the Isle of Man work hard to raise a lot of money for their chosen charity, so it is great that Sarah was able to travel to South Africa to see first hand how the money is being put to good use."