KIND-HEARTED church goers in Thundersley are going to America to help people in crisis.

The team of 11 dedicated volunteers, from the Thundersley Congregational Church, in Kenneth Road, have raised £1,200 each to travel to New Mexico to help support impoverished people in the area. The three-week mission will see the group working alongside native Americans on the Navajo reservation to help provide food and supplies to families in need.

They will also be working alongside orphanages in the area to help local children and provide support to drug and alcohol rehabilitation projects.

Reverend David Rickett, who will be leading the project, said: “These areas are very poor in comparison to other cities in America and often go unnoticed.

It has one of the highest knife crime rates and unfortunately there is not a lot of obvious help out there for people.

“We will be going along to be of service to them in any way we can be. We have a good record as a church of reaching out to these communities and lending a hand, having done projects in Brazil, Romania and Sri Lanka.

“Part of our vision is that we are not just about services on a Sunday, but we encourage members to go on adventures in a Christian context to helping out impoverished communities and we are looking forward to this next challenge.”

The team will be flying out to NewMexico on August 23.