From September, Melanie Pearson, of Medforth Lane, will be working for the local board of education in Nyanza, the site of the former king's palace in the south of the country.

Miss Pearson, 27, will be spending two years working with a cluster of primary schools to develop teachers' skills in a placement organised by international development charity Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO).

"I have been teaching for about four years and volunteering was mooted about two years ago but it was never the right time," said Miss Pearson.

"The children will be six-11 years-old but my job is to work with the primary teachers and teach them methodologies."

She added: "I've taught children of all ages in the UK and in Spain over the last four years but working with Rwandan children and teachers with such limited resources will be a real challenge."

Miss Pearson is currently teaching French and Spanish at King Edward VII School in King's Lynn.

Most teaching will be done in French but Miss Pearson will have to learn the local language Kinyarwanda, which is a dialect of Swahili.

As part of the volunteer programme, Miss Pearson needs to raise £900 for VSO towards the cost of sending out professional volunteers like herself.

l To contribute to her fundraising efforts, visit www.justgiving.com/melaniepearson2.

l For more information about Voluntary Services Overseas, visit www.vso.org.uk or call 0208 7807500.