Year 10 student Danielle will be travelling to Bulera in Uganda next year with the Scouting Association on an expedition to help provide much needed resources for the local village and school. Here she tells us a bit about the trip, what has motivated her to do it and what she hopes will be achieved through it.
I’ve always had an interest in helping others and my dream career would to be a medic for an organisation such as the Red Cross. When the opportunity to go to Uganda with the Scouting Association came up I knew it was something I’d love to be involved with.
After submitting a lengthy application I found out I’d been chosen to go on a selection weekend along with 60 other young people. The weekend involved us demonstrating we were capable of doing the hard work out in Uganda and we took part in various activities, including digging trenches for water pipes and filling in potholes. In addition to the physical labour we were also interviewed to find out what had motivated us to apply and why we wanted to be involved.
I was thrilled when I found out I’d been successful and had made it through to one of the final 30 and I am so excited about being able to go out there and make a tangible difference to the lives of the villagers.
The trip is three weeks long and we’ll be working on two projects. Firstly, the construction of a bore-hole to supply the village with water, and secondly a farm to support the local school's ambition to feed the children once a day and sell produce such as eggs to generate some income to enable the school to keep going, as many of the children cannot afford to pay for education. Our trip will culminate with a three day safari in Kenya to celebrate what we have achieved.
The total cost of the trip is £1800, £450 of which will contribute to the materials and resources we need to complete both projects. The other £1350 will pay for my travel, insurance and general living costs while I’m out there. I realise it is a lot of money so I will be doing various fundraising events to try to raise it before the trip next summer.
I have set up a Go Fund Me page with the hope of raising the £450 which is going towards materials and recourses for the expedition. If you are able to contribute I would be incredibly grateful and I have no doubt that your contribution will go a long way in improving the lives of the children at the school and the wider village with the provision of fresh water, and an education for the young people. Thank you so much in advance, and I look forward to keeping you posted with the developments.
Donationations can be made via Danielle's Go Fund Me page.
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