Growing up in care has not been easy, but a group of youngsters is preparing for the trip of a lifetime. Reporter LOUISE TWEDDELL talked to the group.

WE MAY only be approaching New Year, but for teenagers and young adults on Lewisham's Care Leavers programme, Valentine's Day is already firmly etched in their diaries.

While the rest of us wait for the postman, the group will be boarding a flight to Africa.

They are going on a two-week volunteering challenge.

The trip, named South East London to South Africa (SELSA), will first take them to a township in Lewi-sham's sister autho-rity of Ekurhuleni, near Johannesburg.

They will meet children who have also been in care and help with voluntary work including cleaning up streets and music workshops.

After four days, the group of 11 young people -aged between 17 and 21 - will journey 183 miles north to the Riverside Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Limpopo, where they will stay for the remainder of their visit.

SELSA, organised by Lewisham Council, is one of the first programmes of its kind to be arranged by a local authority in the UK.

Social workers hope the trip will give the youngsters the confidence needed to lead independent lives when they return to Lewisham.

The group has been fundraising to meet the £32,000 cost of the trip.

They have raised £25,000 for the trip through events such as holding a stall at People's Day - a two-day summer festival celebrating the diversity of Lewisham - and a staff Christmas party for Lewisham council.

Strict terms and conditions - including staying out of trouble and gaining places on academic or training courses - have been agreed by the youngsters to ensure their seat on the plane.

Most of the group, who have lived in a variety of children's homes or hostels, have never left the country.

Despite a fear of spiders and worrying about inoculations, Sharon Bryan, 20, is eager to get going.

The Lewisham College BTEC student said: "It will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I've never been abroad.

"But it's going to be challenging and a culture shock."

Despite being taken into care at the age of eight, Sharon added: "I know we are lucky here in this country. We have social services and grants to help us out.

"We have problems but it is nothing like what some of those children have to face.

"To know we are going out there to help other people makes me feel really proud.

"It will make me realise my life has not been as bad as it could have been."

For Jamaal Stewart, from New Cross, the experience is also not just about improving his own life.

The 19-year-old, who was taken into care at the age of nine, said: "I think it will be be a hard experience.

"To see people living really poor lives will not make me feel good but it will make me feel better about what I have.

He added: "There are people who are worse off than you, but you have to see it for yourself to understand it.

"I really want to go out there and make a difference to people's lives and I will make sure I will never take anything for granted again."

A documentary about the trip will be broadcast on Channel 4 in the summer.

The group still needs to find an extra £7,000.

If you would like to donate funds to help the expedition, call 020 8314 7227.