One Week In Uganda

Day 1 At the Rushmere School

2010-06-29T16:46:00.005+01:00

Once we arrived at the guest house in Kampala, it was out for quick shower and back on Moses bus again - still a good few hours off our destination. We had another 80kms to go before we even reached Mityana (the small village in which we stayed for the week) on a very bumpy road which had road works on it this year. There is not enough tarmac in China to be able to makes these roads decent and yet again our backsides and spines took another hiding as we went over bumps, dips and massive rocks at very high speed.

Our first day at the school was great. In typical Ugandan fashion the entire school, parents and village turned out to greet us and to put on a little show for us. It put a smile on the face of each team member and really started the week off on a high. The team this year (as did last year's team) brought out thousands of pounds worth of sports equipment, textbooks and muscial instruments - all made possible through personal donations and the fundraising efforts by the team members.

At the end of the first day we had the opportunity to go and see the site of the old bush school. This is the place where we started last year - an old hut, poor playing area, a stinking long drop and poor access. I am glad this was only a fleeting visit. The progress we have made in less than 12 months is significant and we now have a purpose built school fit for over 500 pupils.

On return to the new school the following morning I noticed that at the back of the new school was a wooden building I had recognised before. Up until that point little did I know that this was the old school hut that had been lifted bit by bit and reassembled - waste not want not - even with a building. Fair play to them.

Arrival at Entebbe

2010-06-28T17:48:00.004+01:00

When you first arrive at Entebbe airport it is a rather different airport than what most people are used to. The airport building is a beige 1950's style lump of concrete that is struggling to meet the demands of a modern airport. However, Uganda being Uganda it is covered in advertising and sponsorship hoardings which gives a fake welcome to a rather impoverished country and city.

As soon as we hit the terminal building we are in the queue for passport control which includes a yellow fever certificate check. Out the other side we meet Moses our bus driver and travel consultant/fixer, Keith the Operations Manager for East Africa and Richard Spratt the Irish Operations Manager. Very good to see them again.

Can't believe I am only getting round to this now

2010-06-28T17:41:00.003+01:00

I didn't get the chance to blog while in Uganda. Despite the massive amount mobile phone coverage I just couldn't upload no matter how hard i tried. So I intend over the next few days to tell the story of the week in Uganda of the 2010 team using as many pictures as I can.

Test

2010-06-13T09:51:00.000+01:00

A little test to see if this works from the Blackberry. I won't be at a computer for a while but need to make sure I have all the tools I need!

If Tomorrow Never Comes...

2010-06-12T22:49:00.002+01:00

Lets face it, it will and it's the day I go to Africa for the second time. I seriously can't wait after packing my bag. Keep thinking I am packing too light but one trip's experience has maybe held me in good stead.

Said the goodbye's to the folks and those nearest and dearest bar the one last phone call before i get on the plane, but between now and then it is all about the focus on what next week will bring.

Let me be honest it ain't 5 star or anywhere close but i am really looking forward to going back to somewhere i didn't think i would ever get the opportunity to go to ever again. This really is a second trip of a lifetime in the last year.

Half the team are already in the air and probably over southern europe at present and we meet them in Kampala on monday morning.

Bring it. Cant wait.

Great Support For the Project

2010-06-09T18:46:00.002+01:00

Rushmere School Uganda 15 Months ago

2010-06-09T18:21:00.002+01:00

About 15 months ago I was sent photographs of the Rushmere School Uganda just as the construction work started to get really going. It is amazing how far the buildings and team have come, the time that has been donated to the project, the brand names that have supported their employees to go on this trip of a lifetime. The shoppers and visitors to Rushmere also have to get a big thank for the money that they have donated to this project. I hope we are able to communicate just how important this money is and what it has gone towards.

Im not a soft touch and was always very cynical about these projects. I have been there I am going back there. The 400 kids now a decent school, they have a proper safe playground, a sports area and fresh clean drinking water on site which they never had before. The money that has been pumped into this project has gone straight to the project and i'm very happy to see that.

Photo Blog: Moments from last year Pt 2

2010-06-09T18:19:00.000+01:00

Photo Blog: Moments from last year

2010-06-09T18:14:00.001+01:00

Thank you

2010-06-09T17:58:00.003+01:00

Alot of people have been wishing me well as I speak to people and some clients probably for the last time before I head off this weekend. It is very much appreciated and I only hope that I am able to blog and send pics back during the eight days away to share some of the experinces that I will no doubt encounter. I am getting the chance to visit the source of the River Nile which will be great. I really hope I get the chance to cross the equator and do the plug hole trick. Fingers Crossed.

Photo Blog: Rushmere School

2010-06-07T17:23:00.003+01:00

At the start of the year I had some photos sent to me by the contacts out in Uganda. The school has been taking shape ever since the 2009 crew came home. Ongoing landscaping has made the front of the school look a lot greener than the dusty red earth that lay there before. Really looking forward to going back to see for myself how much the local area has changed. I am hearing some good reports.

Press Release: Rushmere Retailers Return to Uganda

2010-06-07T16:43:00.009+01:00

PRESS RELEASE: Over twenty volunteers from the retailers and management at Rushmere Shopping Centre in Craigavon head off to Uganda this Saturday [12 June] as part of the Centre’s successful Uganda Schools Project.

Now in its second phase, the unusual initiative has been well supported in-store and by the local community. Over £20,000 has been donated by local shoppers and visitors to the Centre which has gone directly towards the drilling of an essential water borehole, purchase of text books and teacher support material.

With the foundations and structure in place, the focus for this year will be the development of the school’s support buildings and play space around the classrooms. The volunteers, who come from some of the high-streets best known retailers including Sainsbury’s, Debenhams, Next, H.Samuel, Starbucks, Dunnes, JJB and Costa Coffee will spend their time working with the children and teachers to develop teaching plans and participate in classroom activities throughout the week long trip. Over 3,000 volunteer hours have been collectively donated to the project to date.

Martin Walsh, Centre Manager of Rushmere who will lead the team for the second consecutive year, is looking forward to returning to the Kibaale community and seeing how the school and the pupils have progressed over the past year:

“It is our lasting legacy to provide the children of Kibaale with the facilities and equipment needed to help them build a brighter future for themselves and their families. Now entering its second year, the Rushmere Uganda Schools Project is closer to achieving this goal than ever before and I would like to thank everyone who has donated so generously. There is still much to be done and our return will ensure the continued development of the physical foundations we laid last year.

We have a great team heading out this year and we are looking forward to seeing the children and the teachers again. Since our visit last year, I am pleased to say that the school now has a well to provide access to fresh, clean water and a playground – which they never had before. This year the project will focus on the people working at the school, as we help out with lesson plans and share experiences from Northern Ireland.

Building the school, employing good teaching staff and making the central building the pillar of the local community is the first step towards the laying down of a structured education to empower the youth of the community. Our purpose is to ensure the sustainability of the wider project”.

Postponed....

2010-05-20T17:21:00.002+01:00

Ah man, thanks to our friends at BA we have had to postpone the trip until mid June. This means we are going to lose 4 good people from the team.

But look up we must, the project will motor on and I have no doubt that it will be a great success.

Africa Day 2010 at Rushmere

2010-05-17T16:31:00.005+01:00

I didn't get to go due to another gig but from what I hear the Africa Day fundraiser at Rushmere went down very well.

In the pic is Stephen Dowds and Sinead Garvey from Debenhams and Billy Wallace from WH Stephens.

Not long to go now!

Get on the plane BA.

2010-05-16T13:37:00.003+01:00

Crapola. As we get closer to the trip date there is a strong chance that we might get hit by the BA cabin crew strike. If we have to postpone the trip for a few weeks it will not be a massive problem but a headache nontheless. We have planned the trip for over a year and centred around the end of May for over 6 months. Fingers crossed that we go ahead as planned. We find out next Sunday. Oh, and that the ash cloud stays inside the ground aswell.

Rushmere Gears Up for Africa Day 2010 - 15 May 2010

2010-05-10T12:21:00.006+01:00

Rushmere is gearing up for Africa Day 2010 on 15 May in aid of the shopping centre’s Uganda Schools Project.

Africa Day 2010 will bring some of the sights, tastes and sounds of Africa to the centre once again to raise funds for the completion and development of the Rushmere School Uganda.

The project sees another team of 25 volunteers drawn from the management and some of the best known high streets brands based at Rushmere, travel to the heart of Africa at the end of May as part of the centres award winning social responsibility initiative.

Martin Walsh, Centre Manager of Rushmere said today:

“Africa Day is a unique way of engaging shoppers with the ongoing Rushmere Uganda Schools Project and showing the real difference it is making to the local community in Kibaale - one of the most rural parts of Uganda.

Since our first trip, 400 school children now have access to a better education, the opportunity to experience a higher standard of teaching and a safe haven to develop during their primary school days.

Last year we were overwhelmed by the generosity of the shoppers who donated much of their hard earned cash to the project – the project would have been nothing without their contribution. This allowed us to complete the shell of the school and set a solid foundation on which to provide a standard of education which simply did not exist previously.

Now that we have the new building in place we are bringing another team of 25 volunteers from the retailers and management at Rushmere out to bring that development to the next level. In less than 3 weeks time we will have an essential drinking water borehole in place, a purpose built sports field, and new interiors for the classrooms.

I would encourage shoppers to come down and see for themselves the impact that their donations are making not just to the 400 pupils but to the local community and the families of the children who are fortunate enough to get this start in life”.

Planning the 'Second' One Week in Uganda

2010-05-02T10:48:00.004+01:00

Now that the third and final security and cultural briefing is out of the way, it is time for the team to sit down and plan out the weeks teaching at the school. The week will also include some heavy lifiting and building site activity so we will be kept very busy indeed.

Last year the team brought out nearly £2,000 of sports equipment for the school and a range of other educational material that kept the pupils engaged. We hope to do the same this year and build on what worked best.

Word from Uganda is that the sports field is currently being completed and the borehole for the fresh drinking water has been created - a little further off site that we had hoped for but you can't predict where the water table is!

Over the next two weeks we will have the full timetable in place - just in time for second Africa Day at Rushmere in 15th May to raise some further funds.

Doctor, Doctor

2010-04-28T18:52:00.003+01:00

Get the old jab today, for what I can't remember but now I am now boosted (after last year's needle fest) against Rabies, Yellow Fever, Hep and Typhiod - course of anti malaria tablet start soon, can't wait.

Have been walking round all day with cotton wool on my arm. Still better than bleeding out and looking like a bit of a crazy.

Belfast Telegraph TV coverage

2010-04-27T21:17:00.006+01:00

Belfast Telegraph TV have covered the Uganda trip and the finished product is now up on the Bel Tel website.

Off to the Doctor in the morning so that he can jab me with another vaccination booster. Let's hope it the last for a while.

Some of the team returning to Uganda

2010-04-21T18:37:00.002+01:00

Enda McShane of Spirit Marketing Group and Billy Wallace of WH Stephens

The Local Reddies - A fist full of schillings

2010-04-21T18:29:00.005+01:00

In Uganda, they don't do things by the pound, its by the schilling and tens of thousands of them at that.

Pictured above is 10,000 uganda spondoolicks I have laying in my wallet - don't get excited it only about 3 quid in our money.

5 weeks to go

2010-04-21T18:16:00.002+01:00

We have our final prep session at the end of the month and I can tell you the time is just flying in. We have only just over the guts of a month to get ready to raise the bar on the 2009 project.

Lets revisit why this project exists. Last year we we out to build the shell of the school for 400 primary school kids. This year it is all about infrastructre and building local capacity in terms of getting a fresh and clean water supply and starting to work with the school to ensure they have all the equipment they need to function when we return home.

For half of the 2010 team this will be a new experience. The photographs I have taken in my mind from last year are very vivd and will no doubt remain so. I am very much looking forward to going back but also apprehensive - will it live up to last years trip and will I get the same out of it. I suspect it will.

I see Irish Aid are gearing up for Africa Day in about 3 weeks time - the very best of luck to them and the awareness raising work that is being carried out.

Legs are wile sore the day

2010-03-08T17:15:00.003Z

Right the Belfast Marathon is very close - 3rd or 4th of May - how bad is that I can't even remember. Pumped out almost 13 miles yesterday and am really feeling it today. Head to Uganda at the end of May so hoping the training will hold me in good stead.

This brings me to the start of my fundraising drive. In the next few days and weeks I will be going round with the begging bowl and tapping you all up.

Have set a target of over £1000 so I hope to hit that before we head out, in fact I have to. Yikes!

Chris

New Pictures of the Rushmere School 2010

2010-02-13T13:26:00.002Z

One of the team has recently been out in Kibaale in Uganda and took a few shots. As you can see the courtyard of the school is taking shape. The newly landscaped front of the building used to be full of rock and debris and it is fantatic to see some grass and flowers growing.

We head out on 30 May and I am beginning to really look forward to it.Chris

New photos of the Rushmere School

2010-01-04T11:59:00.007Z

I have just received a host of photos from Uganda of the Rushmere School. Looks a little different since we left it in June 2009!! ...