A UNIVERSITY student will for six weeks swap home comforts for teaching first aid to people living in the towns and villages around Africa’s highest mountain.

Abbie Scott heads out to Tanzania and Mount Kilimanjaro at the start of August as part of a project with First Aid Africa.

The third year adult nursing student at Edinburgh Napier University will be away from home for more than a month.

She said: “It will definitely be a challenge but it will be really good.

“It is something really good to do before I settle down and get a job.”

The 21-year-old will need to raise about £1,500 for the expedition.

To help raise funds, she will host a brunch at Haddington Day Centre, where her mum, Caroline, is the manager, on Saturday.

Hot filled rolls, homemade soup and homemade baking will be for sale on the day between 10am and 1pm, with the chance of winning a homemade cake.

All proceeds from the event will then go towards the trip.

She said: “There was a guy from First Aid Africa who had previously graduated from Napier and did the same course as me.

“He wanted to get Edinburgh Napier students involved with First Aid Africa.

“I went along to a talk at university in September or October and it went from there and I signed up to it.”

Abbie, of Seggarsdean Court, will undergo four training sessions later this year in order to prepare her for the 7,000-mile trip.

She said: “You don’t need to be studying nursing but we will be providing first aid skills to rural communities who have limited access to healthcare and providing them with the skills.”

The charity works to provide, and encourage access to, sustainable first aid equipment and education across sub-Saharan Africa.

Courses concentrate on providing sustainable training, which does not rely on imported equipment or Western handouts.

A collection will also be held in Haddington’s Tesco store over the weekend of February 20-21 and a special keep fit session will take place in March to help boost funds.