A FORMER Miss Gwent went to Brazil to renovate a dilapidated school in her mother’s memory.

Alexandra Morgan, who was last year’s Miss Gwent, returned last week from an 11-day trip to Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park organised by bowel cancer charity the Bobby Moore Fund.

She lost her mother, Terri, 54, to bowel cancer in April and raised £4,350 for the charity before her trip through fundraising events, including a ball.

Miss Morgan, who had no construction experience, was part of a group of 40 which helped plaster, tile, sand and paint a school in a deprived village – her most poignant memory of the trip being when she painted a star with her mother’s initials on one of the walls.

The group had to mix cement themselves because they did not have a mixer and also weeded and cleared up the school’s gardens.

They slept in tents, ate local foods and played football against the villagers.

Miss Morgan, from Newport, said seeing the poverty in Brazil had changed her outlook on life.

"It was so upsetting seeing how poor the area was and what an awful condition the school was in.

"I thought there was no way we would get the work finished in time but we worked really hard and it was amazing to see how it all turned out."

She is hoping to return to Brazil with the charity next year.