Project Uganda take £12,500 to help schools!

On the 10th July 2009 the Project Uganda Team - Pauline Latham, Simon Hollingsworth, James Raynor, Ciara Nation, Amy Wicks, Fran Walker, Oli Watson, Shelley Reynolds, Becky Jepson and James Whelan - set out for Uganda at 2.30am Friday morning!

With them were the proceeds of seven months of fund raising, a staggering £12,500! The figure exceeded all expectations and is thanks to the tremendous generosity of family, friends and the people of Duffield, Allestree, Little Eaton and Derby city who supported the cake stalls and bag packing. The figure also included larger donations of cash and funds rasied from the many prizes from businesses across the country. It has been an amazing few months, culminating in this fantastic achievement.

The funds were split as follows:

£1000 to Dr Bayigga Michael P Lulume (long-time supporter of Mirembe school) for a mobile clinic
£2000 to Mirembe Secondary School (previously visited in 2007)
£9500 to Kiringo Secondary School

The largest amount was given to Kiringo as they have so little to work with. Now they have the funds to build brick class rooms and some of the buiding materials needed were purchased by the Team whilst in Uganda.

Each Project Uganda member will be writing their own accounts of the trip and these will be posted as soon as possible.

Photographs of the people, the villages, the schools and the ever present poverty have been added to the web site. Please have a look for yourself at what the team witnessed in Uganda.

Project Uganda Rocks ........

On Friday 26th June Project Uganda held its "Uganda Rocks" gig at Woodlands School at which the enthusiastic audience were entertained by five quality bands.

The evening was kick started in style by Bless'd Flap Doodle and the Hoope getting the audience on their feet and dancing.

Next on were The Stoats who kept the momentum going, their set included a memorable version of the Darkness "I believe in a thing called love". Libby and James followed their act included a soulful rendition of U2's "With or Without You".

Next on was Switzerland - Alien Ant Farm watch out these guys are good ! Last on was recently formed The Output who rocked our socks off with many popular covers, culminating with "All the small things" by Blink 182 ,the mosh pit was heaving to popular number.


The evening was co-ordinated and compared most excellently by MC Becca aka Becca Jepson and a total of £300.00 was raised for Project Uganda.









The Project Uganda would like to send out a huge thank you to to all the bands that took part and to Woodlands school for providing the venue.

More winners with Project Uganda

Today at Ecclesbourne school Mrs Lesley Underhill the Headteacher, picked out the winners of the Project Uganda Grand Prize Draw.

The prizes were donated by the following generous people and businesses Orchid IT, Mr and Mrs Jepson, Buy Mobile Phones, Russell Electrical Services, DATZ, Sassy, ALK Technologies and Sally Montague.

The Project Uganda team has been selling raffle tickets over the last 6 weeks and we have raised a staggering £1,300.00!

.......and the winners are.....

• J Paget - Netbook Computer
• Dean Walker - Signed Derby County Shirt
• Sarah Brown - Mountain Bike
• Pat Garner - Owl Wireless Energy Monitor
• Craig Cooper - Nokia Mobile Phone
• R Nathen - 3 Network Wireless Broadband USB Modem
• Tracy Wright Sassy £150 gift Token
• Simon Jenson - Sat Nav Software for Mobile Phone
• Simon Young - Sally Montague Cut & Finish

Project Uganda would like to say "a big thank you to all that bought tickets"

And the winners are........

Friday night saw around 100 happy quiz goers turn up at Woodlands School for the Project Uganda Quiz and Chips. The evening raised over £600.00 towards the project and there was some serious competition from all the teams to be crowned quiz champions of the evening.

Ben Walton the quiz master had prepared a very challenging quiz with some of the questions causing some serious head scratching from even Alan Brady the Headmaster of Woodlands school and his team of experts!

The team names were very inventive, we had Ken Dodd's dad's dog is dead, QuizTeam Aguliera and our personal favourite The clever people plus Becky !

After several quiz rounds and a break for fish and chips, the results were counted and the overall winners were the Beaver Warrior Supremo's, in second place Hal's Hero's and in third Ken Dodd's Dad's dog is dead.

The winners took away the star prize of a luxury hamper, however no team went home empty handed as the Project Uganda team provided a great range of booby prizes including a Denture Bath, a ladies shaving kit, themal socks, toe nail clippers a door mat, dish cloths etc.

Project Uganda would like to say a big thanks to all who took part and a very special thank you to Ben our quiz master.

Too see more pcitures from the quiz evening please click on the "2009 Project Pictures"

Project Uganda Presents a Quiz and Chips evening

Do you like the challenge of a quiz and are you partial to a portion of Fish & Chips. Then have we got and evening for you and your friends.

The Project Uganda Quiz and Chips night is on the 19th June at Woodlands school, Allestree.

Proceedings start at 7pm

Tickets are £5 for Adults and £3 for 10 and under, the ticket price includes Fish & Chips.

If you get thirsty we have a bar serving all manner of liquid refreshment.

Tickets are available from both Woodlands and Ecclesbourne schools or by emailing steve@projectuganda.co.uk

All proceeds will go to Project Uganda.

Here is a taster question to whet your quiz appetite

Question: How long is Three Mile Island ?

Answer: Two and a Half miles !!!

William Hague meets Project Uganda Students

Some of the Project Uganda students met the Rt Hon William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, at the Strutt Arms in Milford and were able to tell him about the Project Uganda trip.

He was so impressed by the students that he donated some money towards the trip and wished everyone a good time.

He said that it was good for students to experience a trip like this to see how other countries faced different problems from those faced by young people in this country.

Belper News was also there and their photographer took photos of the students with William so we are looking forward to reading about it in the next edition.

Belper based TBS Enterprise Mobility donate £1,000.00

Belper based company, TBS Enterprise Mobility, today handed over a cheque for £1,000.00 to Project Uganda.

Jon Poynton, Commercial Director said “Having spoken to the students about the project we were so impressed we decided to donate £1,000.00. This project is very special because ultimately there are two goals, the first being to completely renovate a secondary school in Uganda to ensure these students have a chance of a life without poverty and secondly the students at both schools will develop new communication skills through their fund raising activities and gain first-hand experience and understanding of a country in poverty, which I am sure will be a life changing event for them. It’s a pleasure to help such a worthy cause.”

If you would like to help the Project Uganda cause please click the donate button now.

Project Uganda fund raising round up

Over the last few weekends the Project Uganda team has been busy making cakes and selling them to the congregations at Woodlands Evangelical Church, Café Church St John Allestree and Little Eaton United Reform Church. The generosity of these kind people has been overwhelming and has added £500.00 to the fund raising total.

For those of you who are not aware, our target is £15,000.00 and we are pleased to confirm that currently we have raised £8,135.27.

We still need everyone’s support and donations to reach our fund raising goal.

The Project Uganda team would like to extend a great big thank you to everyone that has supported our cause to date.

If you are reading this and have not made a donation yet please click the donate button now.

NEW Project Uganda Friendship Bracelets

Support the Project Uganda cause by buying this stylish Project Uganda friendship bracelet, woven by a member of the team in the colours of the Ugandan flag, Yellow, Black and Red.

Buy one for just £1.50 including postage and packaging (UK only sorry)

All your money will be put to good use to help in the refurbishment of the Kiringo Secondary School in Uganda.

Project Uganda Video

Please take a look at the short video of our 2007 project, from this you will see why we are going back this year and why your donations are so important.

Orchid IT helps Project Uganda

Brett Critchley the Managing director of Orchid IT and his finance director James Twigg who both set up the business in one of Brett’s spare bedroom donated a laptop computer for Project Uganda to use to fund raise to help their trip to Uganda.

They also provided 200 copies of the DVD about our last project in 2007. These are being used to give to people that helped with fund raising last time by their contributions or to send to possible sponsors this time.

Derbyshire Building Society 10K

It was a cool start to the 10K at 9am Sunday morning, but our runners did us proud. Everyone running in a “Project Uganda” T-shirt finished in under an hour with the fastest of the team completing the distance in 45 minutes – well done Matt!

The lead runner of the 3500 participants appeared to have sprinted for the whole course, finishing in approximately 29 minutes.

James Raynor and James Whelan from Project Uganda have received promises of donations upon completion of the 10K and the other runners supporting Project Uganda are Matt Pluck, Michael Booth, Duncan Watts and David Judge who have donations from generous colleagues and friends.

Although the final total is yet to be calculated it appears that between them the runners have raised well over £1000!

Thank you so much to all the runners, your efforts have been extremely worthwhile.

More photos from this and previous events can now be viewed by double clicking on the image displayed under the “2009 Project Pictures” heading.

If you would like to make your own donation, please click on the Donate button.

Project Uganda in the local Newspaper

Yesterday an article on Project Uganda was published in the Derby Evening Telegraph.

STUDENTS who worked in an impoverished Ugandan district last year are to return to see what difference their help has made. And they hope to give out more aid to schoolchildren there.

Eight students, five from Ecclesbourne School at Duffield and three from Woodlands School in Allestree, will go to Uganda for nine days. For three of the pupils, it will be the second time they have taken part in Project Uganda, organised by city councillor Pauline Latham.

Last year they went to the Mukono district, where they helped to create a science lab at a school and install a water butt so that pupils could have a drink. This year, they will revisit that school and see what help they can give to another school in the district.

Ecclesbourne pupil James Raynor, 17, is looking forward to returning to Uganda. He said: "I saw so much and it was such an experience going out there that I really want to go again and see what we had helped to achieve. "Getting a water tank at the school was such an important thing because children were setting off at 7am to get to school for 9am and then having a full day without a drink after walking that distance."

He has been passing on his experiences to those students who will be travelling out for the first time. Rebecca Jepson, 15, of Allestree, attends Woodlands School and said she was looking forward to her first visit to Uganda. She said: "I really wanted to get involved because I know sometimes it can be easy to be selfish and I wanted to try to give something back and think it will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. "I have heard from some of the pupils what it was like on the first visit and I think it will be a real experience for me."

James and Rebecca will be joined by Francis Walker, 17, Amy Wicks, 16, Ciara Nation, 17, Shelley Reynolds, 15, Oli Watson, 15, and James Wheelan, 15. The pupils will travel out with Mrs Latham on July 10 to spend nine days in Uganda.

They have each paid for their own air fares and inoculations and are now busy raising more than £8,000 to put towards the two Ugandan schools they will visit.

They held a fund-raising fashion show on Wednesday, March 25, and have organised cake stalls and bag-packing sessions at supermarkets. Mrs Latham said that she had been impressed with the students' enthusiasm in raising money for the trip. She has revisited the area herself with her husband, Derek, since the pupils last went out to hand over money to the schools and see the work on the science lab. "We gave the money because the government there said schools had to offer science or they would be shut down. The money went for materials to finish the construction of the science lab and to fully equip it," she said. "We also spent money on a solar panel and water tank for the roof. "The other school we are going to this time is basically a shack and I think it will be a shock to some people.

Click here to visit the Derby Evening Telegraph web site: http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/news/Pupils-Uganda-difference-year-makes/article-897852-detail/article.html

Ever wondered what a Mayor's Parlour is ?

Now is your chance to visit one!

Project Uganda has been invited by the Mayor of Derby, Councillor Barbara Jackson, to hold a coffee morning in the Mayor's Parlour (Reception Room).

If you would like to visit us, we will be there on Thursday 16th April 2009 between 10:30am and 12 noon. We will be serving coffee and have a variety of homemade cakes and biscuits for you to purchase, with all funds raised going to Project Uganda.

Directions:

The Mayor’s Parlour is situated in the Council House on Corporation Street, Derby and is entered by the corner entrance and up the ceremonial staircase.

All are welcome

Project Uganda visit St Edmunds Allestree

On Sunday the 5th April the Project Uganda team visited the St Edmund's Allestree Parish Church to tell the gathered congregation why we are involved with the project and the aims and objectives.

After the morning service the team sold cakes, marmalade and soft toys to the congregation raising a staggering £205 towards the project!

Project Uganda would like to say a very special thank you to the Revd Canon Chris Dyer and her congregation for their warm welcome and generosity today.

We would also like to thank the team members for baking and helping out at the church today, these were Ciara, James Whelan, Amy, Fran, Becky, Pauline, Jane Walker, Maggie Wicks, both Ken and Cherril Raynor.

"Pack your bags ?" at Sainsbury's Kingsway

On Saturday the 4th April the Project Uganda team and a large following of friends helped the busy shoppers in Sainsbury's pack their bags. People were very generous and grateful for the help they were given.

We would like to thank the management of Sainsbury's Kingsway for allowing us to "Bag Pack" for their customers and to get closer to our target by raising a staggering £1187.

Pauline Latham, team leader of Project Uganda, was delighted at the number of Year 10 and Year 12 friends who gave their support and whole the team wish to thank Eliot Fallows, Jon Vickers, Mark Raynor, Nick Sowter, Ruby Richardson, Toby Cumming, Aaron Stewart, Emily Short, Eliza Dawson, James Holt, Sarah Holmes and Phoebe Simpson.

Finally, thank you to all the shoppers at Sainsbury's for their generosity in making the day a great success; Project Uganda and the Ugandan schools are very grateful to you.

What is Project Uganda ?

Schools in Uganda face huge challenges due to their lack of facilities. This makes it far harder for the children to learn and for the teachers to teach to a reasonable standard. Their schools are often only half built, without textbooks or any kind of teaching aids beyond a blackboard to help stimulate the children's minds.

Project Uganda has been set up to raise money that will be used to provide much needed equipment and facilities at the schools we visit. This in turn will help give these Ugandan children a chance of a better education and ultimately a better life.

If you would like to make a donation please click on the link below

Fashion Show Pictures now on Photobox

Sarah Watson took these great shots at the Fashion Show.

As we are very limited as to how many pictures can be put on this web site, we have used Photobox to give you the chance to see them all and if your Gran would like to buy one she can, for a small fee, with proceeds going to Project Uganda - of course!

Please share this with your friends who modelled because their Grans might like a print of the photo too......


To view the images, click here http://www.photoboxgallery.com/photochute

It's Cool for Catwalks

Wednesday night saw high fashion hitting Project Uganda with our girls and their friends wearing prom and ball gowns chosen, fitted and supplied by Lori G Bridal Gowns of Blenheim Parade, Allestree. Lorraine and Sandra have a great eye for the right dress for the right person and our models loved all the outfits that they had the chance to show off.

Scene one saw the models led onto the stage to “The Boys are Back in Town” as our men walked the catwalk in tuxedos - provided by Brigdens Menswear of Irongate, Derby. Waistcoats, cravats and bow ties were colour co-ordinated to complement the ladies. Some of the girls wore jewel-coloured gowns of turquoise and green, with others in flashes of hot pink, silver and purple.

Scene two showcased the sophisticated and always necessary “little black dress”, some cocktail length, others full length – all beautiful. The men loosened their ties, with more than a hint of James Bond, and all with attitude.

Three models were given makeovers by Natalie Webster of Virgin Vie, with smokey eyes and cheek bones to die for.

Ferne Baker was our hair stylist for night, creating beehives, loose curls, chignons to hold tiaras and edgy creative “up dos” between scenes.

The audience supported the Project Uganda team and their friends with cheers and appreciative glances. We thank everyone for joining us at the fashion show and hope its success encourages many to attend future events.

Thanks to Elliot Fallowes for being our compare, to Jackie Roe for all her hard work with the logistics and finally to Pauline Latham.

The evening ended with sprays of spring flowers being presented to Lorraine and Sandra as we hoped to convey our gratitude at their outstanding contribution to the evening. Many, many thanks to Lori G.

The evening raised over £600.00 in much needed funds

Selling like Hot Cakes at Woodlands School

A few weeks ago Becky Jepson, Fran Walker and I decided to sell cakes at Woodlands School. The first cake selling session raised an impressive £92. I didn’t realise quite how much we could raise selling cakes so we decided to do it again but this time to try and break the £100 barrier. Today in morning break and lunchtime we set about selling again. Every cake was bought and we made a fantastic £110. As our cakes have proved so popular we plan to do it again.

Thanks to Megan Sharratt, Genevieve Tawiah and Anna Johnson for their help.

James Whelan

An Evening of Fashion

Project Uganda

Presents an

‘Evening of Fashion’

at The Ecclesbourne School, Duffield, Derby
On Wednesday 25th March 2009
7.00 – 9.30 pm

‘nothing to wear for that special occasion?’

Join us at our evening of fashion and help raise funds for our ‘Project Uganda’

For mothers and daughters
Prom and Ball Gowns

by
‘LORI G’

stockists of Dynasty, Bari Jay, True Proms and Consortium
on the catwalk at 8.00pm

Also
‘cosmetics’ ‘shoes’ ‘hair’ ‘accessories’
‘wine and soft drinks’

Tickets £5.00 – adults, £2.50 – students
may be purchased from:
The Ecclesbourne /Woodlands school reception.

For more information email Pauline@projectuganda.co.uk

Project Uganda team visit Trinity Methodist Church

This morning the Project Uganda team visited the Trinity Methodist Church in Duffield to tell the gathered congregation why we are involved with the project and the aims and objectives.

After the morning service the team sold cakes, marmalade and soft toys to the congregation raising a staggering £172 towards the project!

Project Uganda would like to say a very special thank you to the Rev Stuart Radford and his congregation for their warm welcome and generosity today.

We would also like to thank the team members for baking and helping out at the church today, these were Pauline Latham, Simon Hollingsworth, James Raynor, Shelley Reynolds, Oli Watson, Gill Reynolds, Sarah Watson and last but not least Jane Walker.

If you have any fund raising ideas for Project Uganda or would like to help in any way please let us know.

What is Project Uganda ?

Schools in Uganda face huge challenges due to their lack of facilities. This makes it far harder for the children to learn and for the teachers to teach to a reasonable standard. Their schools are often only half built, without textbooks or any kind of teaching aids beyond a blackboard to help stimulate the children's minds.

Project Uganda has been set up to raise money that will be used to provide much needed equipment and facilities at the schools we visit. This in turn will help give these Ugandan children a chance of a better education and ultimately a better life.

What Project Uganda means to Ciara Nation

After getting involved with the fundraising from the 2007 trip to Uganda, there was no way I could pass up the opportunity of going there myself and seeing the kind of difference I had made to people’s lives. I have no doubt that whilst the differences Project Uganda will make to the lives of many Ugandan children, it will also alter the way we all value not only possessions, but things which no amount of money can buy – family, health and happiness.

Although our trip to Uganda will by no means alleviate all the poverty and suffering there is within the country, we will be able to assist many to reaching their full potential, and give them some of the hope and prospects which we take for granted. From simple necessities such as pencils and books, things which we cannot comprehend not having, to larger amenities such as buildings, will without hesitation transform these people’s lives greatly.

I am so glad that I am able to be a part of this chance of a lifetime and believe that we can all make a difference to somebody’s life.

Thanks!

What Project Uganda means to Becky Jepson

On December 12th 2008 I had to perform a speech to my year 10 group and convince them that I should be one of the two students from Woodlands School, Allestree to get the chance to be a part of the fantastic cause


Project Uganda.

When my name was called out to be told I had been chosen I was so excited and overwhelmed that I hugged James - the boy from my year who was also chosen to be part of Team Uganda - and I cried!! I am so grateful to my year group for letting me have this wonderful experience.

I know that going to Uganda will be such an eye opening occasion for me, one I will never forget. It is going to be such an amazing adventure for me to go on with such a lovely bunch of people. I know I take a lot of things for granted, I guess we all do but after this trip in July I'm sure I will be so much more grateful for the things I have and not worry about all the little things I worry about now.

I know when I go out to Uganda and see the contrast between my life and the lives of the children I meet it will affect me in quite a number of ways. When I'm out there I will probably go through so many different emotions - happiness, sadness etc. I really can't wait to meet the children we are going to help. I've been told that the children are so friendly and even though they don't have much they still keep smiles on their faces all day long.

Not only am I excited about going out to Uganda and helping so many wonderful people I am excited about fundraising. The fundraising that we do is going to help the children with such simple things as providing pens, pencils and text books but it will also help to provide bigger items such as new school facilities. I hope we can make a difference to their education a difference that could play a big part in their future.

When I go out to Uganda I know I am going to learn so much from the people out there and I hope they learn a little from me. I am really looking forward to seeing what a difference the money we raise can do.

Thank you for reading my blog and if it has made you think that you want to make a difference then hit the donation box at the bottom of the screen. Even if you can only afford to donate a small amount it will make a difference to a Ugandan child’s life.

Thank you, Becky Jepson x

What Project Uganda means to Oli Watson

This trip for me is going to be life changing, as it gives me the opportunity to see and experience firsthand the contrast between my life and the lives lived by the children of Uganda. It’s difficult to imagine what life can be like for children who have absolutely none of the normal day to day opportunities, school equipment, books and in most circumstances, normal daily comforts that I take for granted.

I know that I will be affected by so many contrasting emotions during the forthcoming trip to Uganda and I know even though it will be hard in some ways, I will come out of the journey with a enhanced and balanced view of life.

I know on our short journey we won’t be able to change the world and the terrible statistics that are the measure of the lives of ordinary Ugandans. We will, however, be able to make a lasting and meaningful difference to a small number of Ugandan children and from our humble beginnings let’s hope that bigger things will grow.

Please give us all the support you can.

What Project Uganda means to James Whelan

My awareness of African poverty was brought about when I was just 8 years of age from TV. That made me think. The scenes I saw drove me into wanting to help them.
I talked my mum into a monthly donation to Oxfam knowing that there are people not as privileged as myself.

When the Uganda Project came about I thought I could play my part. I knew that their situation was in need of our help - so why not make it better?

Having met the rest of the ProjectUganda.co.uk I think we will be brilliant as a team and everyone will benefit from it.

Year 10 were all given the opportunity to say why they wanted to be involved in Project Uganda.

This was my contribution…

Ode to Uganda

I want to see how the Ugandans live,
I know that i have plenty to give,
I want to experience their deprived life style,
I know the trip would be really worthwhile

What is it like living in a dark shed?
I wonder as i lie in my comfy bed,
Good food, clean clothes, a nice warm room,
My privileged life compared to their gloom

In order to understand how the third world lives,
Show me a life of poverty - let me want to give.
Send me to Uganda and make me realise,
The troubles they have through my own eyes

I’ve lived a short life of fourteen years,
Enjoying my life with no real fears,
I want to live their life; I want to share their pain,
If only for two weeks I’ll have so much to gain

It’s a life time chance that I can’t pass,
I will be the envy of the rest of the class
The experience will stay with me for the rest of my days,
I want to help, assist and understand their ways,

To help them improve their standard of living,
I will rely on people to be generous and giving,
I’m set for hard work and eager and willing,
To raise some funds and Ugandan shillings,

To help them build their concrete walls,
I’ll play my part and run some stalls,
I’ll fill some buckets full of gunge,
And invite some teachers to take the plunge,
Beware Sir Alan you’ll be on my list,
And I’ll make sure that i don’t miss!

I would be an ambassador for woodlands school,
Educating them in our customs and rules,
Telling them that I’m a big football fan,
Playing for Allestree and supporting the rams.

So when you fill out your voting slip,
Remember it’s me for this life changing trip,
Look down at the list checking out the names,
And put a big tick in the box next to James.

What Project Uganda means to Fran Walker

A lot of people would describe an experience like this as ‘once in a lifetime’. I would love to agree with that, but I’m afraid I can’t. It’s not a matter of it being a once in a lifetime opportunity, because charities such as Project Uganda cannot just be a one time chance, especially to the people that we, as a team, intend to help.

In 2007, I was given the offer to travel to Uganda and represent Woodlands school for Project Uganda. Since then, the impact in which the Project has had on my life has been immense. There isn’t a day which goes by when I’m not discussing of fundraising ideas with others, or reminiscing of the memories from the previous trip. I still find it hard to grasp the concept that poverty which I have once witnessed is still continuing, and it’s even harder to realise that to the people we are trying to help identify these harsh conditions as every day life.

When we first visited Uganda, we visited a small fishing village nearby the school we were helping. I remember thinking how difficult it was to comprehend that the conditions we have in England and the conditions we were currently trying to trample through were completely contrasted; and yet the people who live here were more or less the same as us. While we were there, we had children running after us, trying to hold our hands and laughing at us, because we were the different ones, they were completely adapted to the poor conditions in which they have lived in all their lives.

It wasn’t until a few weeks after we arrived back in Derby that we realised how much our previous fundraising did for the school we helped. Pauline Latham showed us photos and video footage of Mirembe School of when she returned back to Uganda. The improvement of their conditions was astounding. Instead of raw brick walls and broken tables, the classrooms had plastered walls and repaired stationary, and the Science classroom actually had apparatus and other necessaries.

The reality that the previous trip bestowed upon myself was astonishing, and the first hand experience that I went through will stay with me for a lifetime, as it gives me a deeper insight into what other charities want and try to do. I hope that this year, now that we have a bigger and even more eager team, that we will be able to raise more money than we did last time, and hopefully when I return to Uganda I’ll be able to use my previous experience and make a bigger and better impact to the people I hope to aid.

Thank you!

What Project Uganda means to Shelley Reynolds

I know that going to Uganda will be such an amazing, life changing experience; seeing the huge contrasts in the way Ugandans live and we live.

We take so many things for granted, such as our health and our education. In Uganda 66 Infants die out of every 1000, whereas in the UK only five infants out of a 1000 born, will lose their life. The average life expectancy in Uganda – male or female - is 52 years of age; in the UK it is 78 years. In the UK we spend 16 years in school - sometimes resenting it - when in Uganda each child has chores to complete before walking for miles to get to a school that is badly equipped and poorly maintained. We are privileged to have the chance to be educated and to grow up, in a safe environment. This is our time to give Ugandan children the same chance.

Although I realise I can’t increase Uganda’s life expectancy or decrease infant mortality, I know that giving a student simple things like pens and pencils, allows them more access to knowledge, and therefore a chance to improve their lives and achieve what they want without being held back by poverty.

This trip already means so much to me and as I hear more and more about what it’s going to involve, I know that the whole experience will really affect me and influence me and I promise that everything I learn from the people that I meet will be used to the absolute max to help others in the future.

I am so happy to have the chance to go to Uganda with great group of people, to a totally different culture and in some small way make a difference.

Thank you for visiting our blog and please help us by donating whatever you can.

What Project Uganda means to Amy Wicks

Apart from being one of the most emotionally draining weeks of my life, it was incredible to have the chance not to just put the money in the collection box, but to see where it goes and how it helps people.

At first it didn't seem fair that just because these children lived in Uganda, they couldn't have an education. However knowing how much we contributed to their future and well being made all the fundraising and hard work worth it. It puts into perspective how careless we are with our possessions in England. Moaning at home about not having the next upgrade on your phone, compared to an African child cherishing the pencil that you have given them was extremely touching.

Experiencing firsthand the suffering of Ugandans, and having to walk away is the main reason for me wanting to return and thankfully this year we will with a bigger team, more experience, and therefore more help for these people.

What Project Uganda means to James Raynor

I became involved in the project over two years ago, and the impact it’s made on my life is profound. I got involved in the project, through the good graces of my School Year; it’s given me the chance to see other cultures, to put my own life in perspective, but most importantly to actively and effectively help people in Uganda. These people, now friends, due to their place of birth, have a totally different existence to my own.

I met students the same age as me, who in order to be educated, woke up at five o’clock in the morning, fetched water for their family, walked up to six miles bare foot over horrendous terrain to arrive at school at nine o’clock. They would then have an eight hour day of sitting in dark rooms, without water, decent equipment and in some cases food. They were sharing pencils, one between three and were two years behind on their course.

We managed to change all this; we delivered materials in order to build and equip a science lab, without which the school would’ve closed. The project delivered a stock pile of equipment ranging from more pens and pencils than they knew what to do with, through to books, through to a globe, these students finally knew where they were on the planet. We bought a water butt for the school so all children can drink whenever they need to. We plastered the school buildings and painted them white; this combined with solar energy and lighting means that students are working in a brighter happier environment. All this is sustainable for future generations, and because of the outside help the school received, it’s no more expensive for students.

When you stand with a group of small children around you, holding your hand and not wanting to let go, you begin to understand the huge impact the project’s work has achieved. What hit me the hardest was knowing that the money we raised really did change people’s lives, that without us these people could have had a totally, brutally different existence, and that through a bit of work and the kind donations of people from the U.K. a community is much better off.
A man in Uganda said to me “Education is a way out of poverty”, that stuck with me through to today. We want to extend our work to other school’s in Uganda and help as many as we possibly can. So please give as much as you can, it truly does make a huge difference.

Thank you.

First team picture

Today the Project Uganda team got together to discuss fund raising activities and to have their first group picture taken !

From left to right we have Pauline Latham, Shelley Reynolds, Oli Watson, Ciara Nation, James Whelan, Fran Walker, Simon Hollingsworth, Amy Wicks, James Raynor and last but not least Becky Jepson.

Over the coming months the team will be participating in many different events to raise funds to help the Ugandan schools they will visit in July.

If you would like to help today simply click the donate button on the web site

THANK YOU !

Project Uganda team to run the Derby 10k

On the 19th April a team of enthusiastic runners will be donning their Project Uganda T-shirts and lycra running shorts and attempting to complete the Derbyshire Building Society 10k race. From left to right in the picture, Duncan Watts, Dave Judge, Matt Pluck, Martyn Fisher and Michael Booth will also attempt to raise a much money as possible for Project Uganda.

The boys are already training hard to ensure they complete the 10k in as short a time as possible.

To encourage them to train harder and run faster they need your help and support in the form of a donation.

So please please help them to help Project Uganda by clicking the donate button and making a donation using either a credit card or a Paypal account.

Thank you - every little helps!

Project Uganda- the story so far

Project Uganda began in 2006 when Pauline Latham approached Woodlands School in Allestree, Derby and The Ecclesbourne School in Duffield, Derbyshire to see if they would like to become involved in taking aid out to a school in Uganda. The plan was to take two students from each school plus a teacher to show them how students and their parents value education as a way of getting themselves out of poverty. Both schools were enthusiastic.

Following that the selection process began with all pupils in both Year 10’s invited to prepare a presentation to give to the School Council at Woodlands and to their whole year group at Ecclesbourne. The presentations were voted on and the students selected. This was a wonderful lesson in democracy. Those voting were told to vote for the person who would best represent the school and be their ambassador, not necessarily their best friend. Those elected were James Rayner, Joe Biggs, Fran Walker and Amy Wicks. The teacher selected by non democratic means was Alan Brady who is the headteacher from Woodlands School

Once selected the parents became involved and the fund raising began! The group were given some grant aid from various trust funds to start them off but the task of raising around £10,000 was a daunting one. Bag packing was done at Asda, Morrisons and Somerfield supermarkets, with a car wash at the drive through MacDonald’s, a Hip-hop dance was organised, sponsored running by James, designer bags were made, ribbons were made with the Ugandan flag colours for students to buy, muffins were sold, non-uniform days organised and many more activities organised to raise money. It was all hard work but great fun giving the students plenty of time to ‘bond’ before their life changing trip to Uganda.

Many more lessons were learnt than expected. Students from each year group helped in the fund raising which brought together students from the two schools which have a traditional rivalry. This divide has now been broken down in the year groups involved with long standing friendships now established. It wasn’t unusual for 40 or more students to go into town to the cinema after all helping with the car washing or the bag packing. The heads of the two schools exchange ideas and have learnt from each other which may well not have happened before.

As well as the hard work of fund raising, the students, their parents, Jackie Roe, the enthusiastic Year 10 tutor at Ecclesbourne who didn’t go to Uganda but was always there to help and Sir Alan as he became known went to the Mayor Making ceremony when Pauline Latham became the Mayor of the City of Derby.

The students went with Pauline and Sir Alan to London to organise their visas at the Ugandan Embassy then went onto meet David Cameron for a short discussion about their trip followed by tea with Lord Sheikh, in the House of Lords, himself a Ugandan Asian who had been thrown out by Idi Amin in the 1960’s. The students went with Pauline onto Radio Derby to explain what they were doing and to appeal for old hand sewing machines to be donated. They were then serviced by Cllr Sean Marshall who has a business with sewing machines. He did this free for the project.

A businessman, Neville Baxter of RH Group from Nottingham who has a freight business flew all these plus some computers and other donated articles out to Entebbe without charge.

Once in Uganda the real life changing trip began.

Mirembe Secondary School was the real focus because the group had taken a lot of cash out to spend on things that the school wanted which would improve the educational chances of their students. Mirembe is a school which the local community built because they wanted all their children to have an education. It is situated in between other government funded schools which are too far for children to walk to. As it is the Mirembe students have to walk up to six miles each way a day, after doing their chores at home, to get to school. There is a Primary School next to it which is government funded.

On the first visit to Mirembe the group met the Headteacher, Kyobe Petersen, his two teacher colleagues, the PTA, the governors, the pupils from the primary school and the Mirembe pupils. The welcome received was quite overwhelming. Many of the adults had travelled through the bush to meet the group and waited, in the hot sun, for several hours until the minibus arrived. Everyone else was sitting in the heat but they had erected an awning for their ‘VIP’ visitors to sit under. In front of the awning was a huge banner welcoming Pauline as the Mayor of Derby and everyone with her.

The school had organised singing by the Primary School, speeches by their various dignitaries, poetry and most impressive a play written and performed by the Ugandan students. The subject was ‘Corruption in the NHS’, not ours but theirs. Of course, Pauline as the then Mayor of Derby had to respond to the speeches as did Sir Alan. Then a huge meal was served for about 400 people, which had been cooked on an open fire by some local women. The large stew contained chunks of meat which they probably didn’t usually eat because it is a poor community. Fried plantains, potatoes and a mealy type of dish accompanied the stew. It is difficult to imagine how anyone manages without any water on site to produce a meal for so many. This was the first meal that the group had eaten that was truly local. Some of the students managed to eat more than others but it was good to have a meal because it was the first since breakfast and the time was about 4pm.

Before going to Mirembe Secondary School the group visited a school called Standard Jack’s Primary School where the pupils were crammed into what looked like small cattle sheds but were their classrooms. The classes were large with no books and just a blackboard for the teacher to use. The most impressive thing apart from the wonderful smiles from the children was the school uniform. All pupils in Uganda wear a uniform which is usually clean and very smart. How they keep so clean with so little water sometimes a mile away from home is difficult to imagine.

Apart from several visits to Mirembe Secondary School the group were taken to meet some Aids orphans and Aids widows, who were mostly HIV positive with little hope of survival because there is an acute lack of drugs. On the same day the trip also went to the ‘Landing site’ which was a settlement on the edge of Lake Victoria. The community were the poorest anyone had seen because the bosses who owned the fishing boats where most of the men in the village were employed paid them a pittance and they struggled to survive on the money. The students were particularly affected by the extreme poverty but Pauline and Sir Alan found it very moving as well.

Whilst in Uganda the group from Derbyshire visited Ngamba Island, a chimpanzee sanctuary, at feeding time proving an entertaining time. A journey by speed boat was the way to get to the island, which is in Lake Victoria. This proved very popular with James and Joe particularly.

Another day was spent going to Jinja where many of the displaced Ugandan Asians had lived before Idi Amin turned them out of Uganda. It is easy to see the difference in the style of building because there is a definite Indian influence. Lake Victoria is where the source of the Nile can be found not far from Jinja and it is where Mahatma Ghandi’s ashes were scattered after his death.

Everyone has there own special memories of Uganda but no-one could fail to be moved by the friendliness of the pupils and the gratitude of the local community for the help and support from the two schools. Most of the students and both Pauline and Sir Alan keep in contact with people they met over there.

It was a humbling experience and if they didn’t appreciate the lifestyle that is enjoyed here in Derby and generally in the OK, before going, it was appreciated whilst there and on reflection on the return to a comfortable existence here.

Everyone that went before is looking forward to returning to see those they met before. For those that are going for the first time there is a real sense of excitement and anticipation.

What a shame that all young people can’t have the same or similar experiences.

More about the project

Hi my name is James and I am one of the students who will be participating in Project Uganda 2009. Thats me in the white T Shirt in the picture.

I am writing this to give you a better understanding of what Project Uganda is about and why we need your support and donations.

Here goes;

Project Uganda is supported by Ecclesbourne and Woodlands Schools. Our first project in 2007 raised approx £4,000 to directly influence projects in Uganda (11.5M Ugandan Shillings).

In 2007 we focused our efforts on Mukono District and Mirembe Secondary School. This secondary school had no electricity, no water, the building was incomplete and dangerous, the students had to share pencils, the classrooms were dark, the school had no science equipment.

The funds we raised in 2007 provided the school with Solar Energy, water, pens and pencis , paper, books, a science lab, the foundations for a library and computer room etc.

Every £1 you donate will go to similar schools, this year we want to make a bigger difference by raising as much money as possible to help more children and more schools.

Please help by making a donation, in doing so you make a big difference.

Thanks

James Raynor

Student Ecclesbourne School

Ugandan Schools

Schools in Uganda face huge challenges due to their lack of facilities. This makes it far harder for the children to learn and for the teachers to teach to a reasonable standard. Ugandan schools are often only half built, without textbooks or any kind of teaching aids beyond a blackboard to help stimulate the children's minds. If a school does improve its facilities, it also has to raise its fees in order to cover the improvement costs. This of course means that fewer families in the community can then afford to send their children to the school to make use of the better facilities. If the money for the improvements comes from an outside source, the school does not need to raise its prices to compensate for them, Resulting in a better education remains more affordable for all;

It is our aim to raise as much money as possible before travelling to Uganda to make a big difference to the schools we visit.

Uganda and Aids

Background

Uganda is often held up as a model for Africa in the fight against HIV & AIDS. Strong government leadership, broad-based partnerships and effective public education campaigns all contributed to a decline in the number of people living with HIV and AIDS in the 1990s.

Although there is a lot to learn from Uganda’s comprehensive and timely campaign against the AIDS epidemic, emphasizing Uganda’s success story must not detract from the devastating consequences that AIDS continues to have across the country: personally, socially and economically. There are currently an estimated 940,000 people living with HIV in Uganda, and a further 1.2 million children who have been orphaned by AIDS.

The current situation

The current HIV prevalence in Uganda is estimated to be 5.4% amongst adults. According to the Uganda HIV and AIDS Sero-Behavioural Survey, the number of people living with HIV is higher in urban areas (10.1% prevalence) than rural areas (5.7%); it is also higher among women (7.5%) than men (5.0%).

It is feared that HIV prevalence in Uganda may be rising again; at best it has reached a plateau where the number of new HIV infections matches the number of AIDS-related deaths. There are many theories as to why this may be happening, including the government’s shift towards abstinence-based prevention programme, and a general complacency or ‘AIDS-fatigue’. It has been suggested that antiretroviral drugs have changed the perception of AIDS from a death sentence to a treatable, manageable disease; this may have reduced the fear surrounding HIV, and in turn have led to an increase in risky behaviour.

The impact of AIDS on Uganda

AIDS has had a devastating impact on Uganda. It has killed approximately one million people, and significantly reduced life expectancy19. AIDS has depleted the country’s labour force, reduced agricultural output and food security, and weakened educational and health services. The large number of AIDS related deaths amongst young adults has left behind over a million orphaned children.

"If someone in Uganda tells you they haven't been affected by HIV/AIDS they're lying."Jennifer Bakyawa, a Ugandan journalist

Women are particularly affected by the epidemic in Uganda, representing 59% of those infected with HIV/AIDS in the country. Ugandan women tend to marry and become sexually active at a younger age than their male counterparts, and often have older and more sexually experienced partners. This (plus various biological and social factors23) puts young women at greater risk of infection; in fact, young women in Uganda are nine times more likely than young men to contract HIV.

The way forward

Uganda is at an important crossroads in the history of its AIDS epidemic. After a dramatic reduction in HIV prevalence following an early comprehensive HIV prevention campaign, there are signs that the number of people living with HIV in the country may be starting to rise again.
In order to avoid this, Uganda needs to take a serious look at infection trends and behaviour to identify why this rise may be occurring and how to remedy it. Experts believe that complacency and the ‘normalisation’ of AIDS may be leading to an increase in the risky behaviour that early prevention campaigns sought to reverse.

"People now think that because we have had HIV for so many years, it is a normal condition among the population."Kihumuro Apuuli, director of Uganda Aids Commission (UAC).

Uganda clearly needs to revive and adapt its HIV prevention programme, moving away from abstinence-only initiatives to a comprehensive programme that incorporates not only abstinence, fidelity and condom use, but also HIV testing and preventing mother to child transmission.