A MEYSEY Hampton man who set up a charity in East Africa that helps refugee children get an education has been given the Queen’s new award for young people.

This year the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, in partnership with Comic Relief and The Royal Commonwealth Society, has set up The Queen's Young Leaders Programme in honour of the Queen's service to the Commonwealth.

Edmund Page, who grew up in a farm near Meysey Hampton, was given the award to recognise the achievements of the Xavier Project , a charity he set up, which provides educational opportunities to refugees living in urban areas in Kenya and Uganda.

The project acts as mentors to the youngsters, funds their schooling and puts them through courses to teach them new skills at its centres in Nairobi and Kenya.

As part of a prize for winning the award, the Xavier Project will receive help from an charity expert in the area to help them grow as an organisation.

Edmund, aged 29, believes that the charity will be able grow due to the exposure it will get from him winning the award.

He said: “I felt excited about the programme. It is a good opportunity for the charity to get a bit more exposure."

He explained that his team of 30 paid staff and volunteers should be given recognition for putting in a lot of work to get the charity to the stage where it is now.

Edmund was inspired to set up the charity when he was doing some volunteering work in Kampala in 2008, during his time as a student at St Andrews University in Fife, Scotland.

The charity helps youngsters up to secondary school age by paying their school fees, while also working with the schools to ensure their educational needs are met.

Edmund, who now lives in Nairobi, explained that as part of that process, Xavier Project staff work with teachers in the schools to help them understand how to deal with the problem of refugees being bullied.

“We work with teachers and try to prevent them from being bullied. It is not only teachers it is also teachers bullying refugees.

“Just by explaining they need to be positive towards them really helps."

As well as working with schools, the project runs holiday programmes at its centres, where youngsters can study a range of subjects such as sport and drama.It also provides courses for adults such as web design, maths and English.

This year the charity is aiming to provide more teaching centres in rural town in East Africa as well as setting up its own primary school.

Edmund said: “One of my hopes is that this year we will have the resources to make it happen.”

To find out more about the Xavier Project and give a donation visit www.xavierproject.org.