An "anti-social" young man transformed his life after taking part in a Raleigh International programme.

Now he plans to go to college and become an entrepreneur and is encouraging others to pursue their dreams as well.

Shevaughn Dill, 21, admits he kept to himself when the Raleigh International programme first started. He wasn't really interested in opening up to his peers or getting actively involved but after ten weeks in the jungles of Malaysia, he formed close bonds with others.

"When I first met these guys I just stayed by myself for the first camp. I just didn't want to open up to people, and then one of them, Tasha (a girl on the team) started talking to me," he said.

"To make the situation more comfortable I started socialising with people."

Raleigh International is a character-building and adventure programme, which targets at-risk youth between 17 and 25 years old. It gives them the opportunity to travel to exotic destinations, like Malaysia, India and Costa Rica, where they must complete community service and life-changing tasks.

For Mr. Dill, the programme also gave him a new lease on life: "I go for things more, go for my dreams and I want them to be reality."

He is working to go to college and hopes to open up a restaurant in the United States or Europe some day, specialising in Bermudian foods and drinks. He encourages others to: "Go for whatever dreams you have, anything is possible."

Ten others including Darreana Burchall, 18, Mandy Scott, 21, Catarina Correia, 17, and Duanette Symonds, 20 took part in the expedition from July to September.

They wanted to prove to themselves how strong they were, learn to be more self-confident, break out of their comfort zone and figure out what they could do with their life.

Miss Correia, a student at Berkeley Institute, said: "I believe I can do anything I put my mind to. It really changed me a lot. I want others to go to have the experience and see there is a different world out there outside of Bermuda and instead of going away to shop and stuff, it's better to help people that are less fortunate than you."

The programme's executive director Kristin White described Raleigh as one of the best schemes for young people today.

She has seen participants go through "drastic changes" in such a short amount of time. And she encourages any young person struggling with their direction in life to apply as a Raleigh International participant the organisation is accepting applications now.

"For any young people out there thinking '(there's no more) for me, I've dropped out of school, I don't have my GED, I don't have a job, I'm doing something that I know my family won't be proud of, I can be more than this, but I just don't know how', Raleigh is a way to have that opportunity to see you can be everything you want to be," she said.

"I think in Bermuda we have a lot of social issues and a lot of our young people are getting sidetracked and feeling that there isn't anything out there for them. The stories you heard today show the young people that the world is out there for them. Anything is possible. It is just up to them to make it happen, doing things they may have never believed they could do."

For more information on the programme or to fill out an application form, visit www.raleigh.bm. There will also be a special information session on Monday, November 23 from 5.30 to 7 p.m. at the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce.