At the start of our conversation Maxine Barnett wasn't keen on mentioning her age.

I don't know why she was so hesitant. At 46, and 30 years since she left school, she has embarked on some pretty life-changing experiences.

Firstly, she has returned to the classroom. She didn't do too badly during her first time round as a scholar but Maxine's quest for success involves achieving her ambition of a first-class honours degree in PR.

"I decided I wanted to change my life. Doing a degree is taking it down a different road," she says.

Maxine is currently studying at Huddersfield University. Being among students half her age, she admits, was daunting to begin with. "But I've met some great friends," she adds.

When she left school as a teenager she followed her ambition into a career in travel which she felt would be varied and interesting. It was, but Maxine also suspected there was a decline within the travel industry, prompting her to move into the worlds of insurance and finance. She became a qualified mortgage adviser and currently works for Abbey in her home city of Bradford.

The day after we spoke Maxine was boarding a plane with a suitcase packed with 100 toothbrushes and toothpaste among her personal possessions. She was flying out to Cambodia to spend two months educating children and promoting the importance of dental hygiene in poverty-stricken areas.

Maxine's decision to take a year out of her employment and spend her summer helping youngsters in need was something she didn't take lightly. Being single, she only has her own income and taking a year out of work means relying heavily on her student loan. But Maxine's selfless motive is to help others.

She had heard about the UK charity, Schools for the Children of Cambodia, while studying digital imaging at Dixons City Technology College in Bradford. "I met a girl who'd travelled round the world and she mentioned that she'd done some charity work," recalls Maxine.

Inspired by what she heard, Maxine checked out the charity's website to find out more. The non-profit organisation was launched in 2002 to fund free education programmes for children in Cambodia.

Maxine explains how scholars in the Siem Reap province, where she will work, live in a relatively poor region with only the basic necessities to survive. Some of the youngsters don't even have shoes.

Such is the state of their education provision that some of their schools are roofless. Inclement weather interrupts their education.

Thankfully, the SCC is striving for change. The charity currently supports 2,000 pupils in six schools within the Siem Reap province.

Says Maxine: "They don't have free education in Cambodia and these children are too poor to be educated so that is why the charity is adopting schools to allow them free education."

During her two month trip, Maxine will also be promoting the importance of dental hygiene on good health. With the help of her local dentist, she has contacted a leading toothpaste manufacturer who has donated supplies which Maxine has taken out with her. On her return, she intends to liaise with a dental health charity about the standard of dental care and provision out there, with a view to kick-starting a programme of aid with a Cambodian school.

Maxine's main intention is to make a difference. "I want to live as they live a little bit. I want to try their food, live their life and I want to make a difference," she says.

As well as volunteering in Cambodia, Maxine also plans to visit Vietnam. "My intention is to go and discover. I don't want to go to the normal tourist places, I want to go to places that are untouched. I don't like set itineraries - I like to explore. I'm a bit of an adventurer.

"I've not been blessed with children, I'm single and nobody is holding me back. People say I'm brave but if I can do it I will do it.

"I am a bit daunted because I've gone from a full-time job with a regular income to no income for a year and living on student loans, but despite taking risks I'm healthier and happier and no amount of money can be put on that.

"This experience will also broaden my horizons. I want to appreciate what we take for granted and see if I can do something for somebody else who has got a lot less than us.

"It will expand my mind and give me a different viewpoint and understanding and, hopefully, it will also help raise the profile of the charity and do something for them."

Maxine hopes her story will inspire others. "I may be a bit poorer and a bit more in debt but I am a lot happier if I can inspire others.

"I don't know where I will be in 12 months' time but I'm confident I will be doing something I enjoy. The world is my oyster."

  • For more information on Schools for the Children of Cambodia visit www.sccambodia.org