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The voice of Scotland’s vibrant voluntary sector

Published by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

TFN is published by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6BB. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Registration number SC003558.

Scots teenage charity worker dies in India trek tragedy

This news post is almost 9 years old
 

Niamh Campbell was volunteering with Project Trust when she fell ill on a trek

A 19-year-old charity volunteer from Clackmannanshire has died while trekking in the north of India.

Niamh Campbell, a volunteer with Project Trust, fell ill while walking as part of a group in north of Manali, Himachal Pradesh on Monday, 18 May.

She was taken by ambulance to hospital in Manali but passed away.

Niamh travelled to India as a volunteer in August 2014 to teach English, maths and science at a school in Bangalore.

Ingrid Emerson, chief executive of Project Trust, which is based on the Hebridean island of Coll and has been organising long-term overseas volunteering placements for school leavers since 1967, said: “Niamh was a lovely girl and an impressive and committed teacher, always hard-working and considerate of others.

"Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with her family and her fellow volunteers, and our priority now is to provide them with whatever support we can.”

Niamh Campbell
Niamh Campbell

A spokesperson for Niamh’s family said they were “heartbroken and devastated”.

They said: “To hear Niamh called a "Scots Charity Worker" fills the family with huge pride, but for that to come from her sudden and unexpected passing has left them heartbroken and devastated.

“We now know how many lives she touched in a life all too short. Niamh was true to herself right up to the end.

“She was surrounded by friends being loving, caring, spontaneous and with a dog running by her side.

“The family are heartbroken at the loss of their beautiful, bright, caring girl and ask that they are given privacy to mourn her passing.”

Project Trust’s overseas director departed the UK for India on Monday and is expected to join its in-country representatives in Delhi today (Wednesday, 20 May) to provide support.

The charity further added Niamh’s trek was led by an experienced guide from a reputable company which specialises in trekking in the region.