Top award for charity worker (From This is Hampshire)

Top award for charity worker

9:21am Sunday 14th November 2010 in News By Emily Roberts

A WOMAN from Hook who has raised more than £150,000 to help children in Kenya was rewarded for her efforts by a national women’s magazine.

Victoria Ferguson won the ‘Ultimate International Angel’ category at the Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women of the Year Awards.

The 25-year-old, from Driftway Road, collected the award at a star-studded reception in London, with celebrities including Girls Aloud member Nicola Roberts, model Kelly Brook, pop-star Dizzee Rascal and boy-band Westlife.

Hosted by Fearne Cotton, the awards celebrate the remarkable stories of real women and inspiring celebrities.

Victoria set up the charity Glad’s House to help street children in Kenya.

She went on a gap-year trip to Mombasa and was planning to return to go to drama school, but decided to stay after being inspired by the children there.

She opened a centre for some of Mombasa’s 35,000 street children and single-handedly set up the charity, named after her late grandmother Gladys.

She helped hundreds of children to kick their addiction to glue and alcohol, allowing them to play football or return to full-time education.

Victoria hopes to raise another £150,000 to build a permanent rehabilitation centre to house up to 60 children at a time, and also plans to set up a creche for children born to mothers living on the street.

Now back in the UK and employed by Hampshire County Council as a youth worker, Victoria spends her spare time raising funds for her charity.

She said: “These kids have nothing. They have to beg for money and have to take drugs to stop themselves feeling hungry, but they always have smiles on their faces, and that’s what inspired me.”

A special feature on the award winners is in this months’ issue of Cosmopoli-tan.