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Darlington student heads to Afghanistan

Jan 31 2010 by Nicola Juncar, Sunday Sun

A GAP year spent in a war-torn country has proved to be a truly life-changing experience for a North student.

Last year the Sunday Sun reported how Rachael Davies took time out from her degree to be a Territorial Army captain in Afghanistan.

Student Rachael Davies

Now the 24-year-old from Darlington is planning to make a return visit when she finishes her disaster management course at Teesside University later this year.

Rachael says her time in the country, overseeing vital reconstruction work, was so inspirational she is considering becoming an interpreter for either the Foreign Office, Red Cross or United Nations.

She said: “It would be good to look at what we started to implement the last time and to see how the work has progressed.”

Rachael has served with the TA for seven years and completed officer training with the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where she was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.

“I’ve always wanted to be in the regular Army and when I first joined the TA I just liked the social side. I loved being in the TA so much I realised I wanted to go down the officer route,” she said.

“I became interested in third world development when I was in Sri Lanka during the 2004 Tsunami. I worked for a year to get some funds so I could return there as a volunteer teacher.”

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