Scouts and their leaders are jetting off Namibia as part of a community project.

The 60 members of the Southgate scout group have set off to northern Namibia to visit the San people in Tsintsabis as part of the Orange Grove project, which began three years ago.

The visit in July 2011 saw 28 members of the Hatters explorer scout unit, based at Bourne Methodist Church, in Southgate, start an orange tree plantation as a way of generating more money into the village.

Now leaders and explorer scouts will finish what they started when they travel to the capital of Namibia, Windhoek, before taking the long trip north.

Scouts will help upgrade the water tower and improve irrigation as well as repairing fences and planting more trees.

Leader Stephen Ward said “It’s fantastic that so many young people want to travel to work in uncomfortable conditions to help others. The results so far prove that continued support for international projects like this really works."