Zayneb Osman will work as a volunteer during the Games along with other volunteers from the London 2012 Young Leader Programme.
An Olympic-bound Wandsworth volunteer is gearing up for what she says will be the experience of a lifetime.
Zayneb Osman, from Streatham Hill, will work as a volunteer during the summer games and will be based in the very heart of the Olympic Village
Her work will involve scanning tickets and working at help points, but the 18-year-old will also get the opportunity to take part in the opening ceremony along with 75 other volunteers chosen from the London 2012 Young Leader Programme.
Zayneb, who studies International Development at London Met University, says she cannot wait for the occasion.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “I have already had a little taster at some of the trial events in the past few weeks, and now I’m really buzzing for the real thing.
“The opening ceremony will be phenomenal, it’s just amazing to think we will be there when the whole world is watching.
“It was a bit of a shock when I got into the programme because I did not think I was the sort of person they were looking for at all.
“The Olympics is watched across the world and before the programme I never really imagined myself being involved at all.
“It is going to be something I don’t think I will ever forget.”
The London 2012 Young Leaders were selected in 2010 from London, Hull, Aberdeen and Surrey to deliver a range of volunteering opportunities in their local community.
In those two years the Wandsworth team put on a series of events across the area for residents.
One of the events in particular is a proud memory for Zayneb because of the role she played in organising and running it.
“I ran the first project in Wandsworth and we called it the Wii Olympics in a sheltered housing facility, which is home to people 30 years and above, and taught them how to use the Wii console,” she said.
“That was really fun because it was something a majority of them had not actually done before and it was also challenging to teach them how to use the Wii.
“They did not take to it that quickly to be honest, because a lot of them had never used one of the consoles before, but it was still great fun!”
Zayneb hopes that she can continue her volunteering in Wandsworth once the games have come to a conclusion.
“We have all agreed that we are going to keep on working in the area,” she said. “The organisers gave us all mentors and they were pleased to hear we would continue working in the Wandsworth community after the conclusion of the games.
“Wandsworth is quite a diverse community so we would like to put on a celebration of that.”
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