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!