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Author: Dan Robinson
A group of Newcastle students are raising money in aid of a trip to Uganda for voluntary construction work.
The 12 students, consisting of six boys and six girls, will be travelling on behalf of the Wider Mbarara Project, and will be helping to build a community centre for vulnerable marginalised children and youths.
The project is entirely student-organised, and they must raise the £12,000 required for construction materials and employing builders by themselves.
In order to achieve this target, six of the students recently completed a 140-mile coast-to-coast cycle challenge from Whitehaven, Cumbria to Tynemouth in just three days.
The marathon began on 13th April and, despite encountering a number of mishaps throughout the journey, the group managed to reach Tynemouth in one piece.
Steven Ward, a second year Civil Engineering student, commented, “Disaster struck on the third day when one bike broke. However, walking was never an option and thanks to some cycling pros we bumped into who helped us fix the problem, we were back on track”.
They have already raised money through leg waxing, cake sales, and a ceilidh. However, this is the biggest single fundraising event of the project, with a target of £500 each to be raised.
A specially organised club night, Absolut Africa, at World Headquarters has also been in the mix to raise both funds and awareness of the project.
It was held last Thursday under a tribal theme, with Sam Jacks and Pacific getting in on the action to include drinks promotions for those involved on a successful night for the crew.
All based within the Civil Engineering and Geosciences school of Newcastle University, the students plan to depart in June for six weeks construction work, with a final week spent travelling in Africa.
They are the seventh consecutive group to go out to Mbarara, South West Uganda as part of the project, which began in 2004. With no machinery on site, they will be working with Ugandan builders to advance on the existing work of the project.
Previous groups have built hospitals and accommodation blocks for AIDS orphans, while this year’s group aim to finish the interior of a 6-room accommodation block, before beginning a new one.
Fellow Civil Engineering student Andrew Purdy said: “It’s a good way to spend my summer holidays, helping other people as well as my future ambitions.
“I get to experience another culture and something I’ll probably never get to do again. We are still apprehensive about reaching our £12,000 target, but we’re working hard over the coming months to make sure it’s possible”.
With no financial support offered as a part of the project, the students must all pay for their own flights and spending money. They will be afforded no luxury, living with the orphans and surviving on basic food rations.
They will also work for long hours, supporting the builders through labouring, digging foundations, using simple tools and conducting basic tasks.
However, the students will also use the opportunity to go travelling for a week after they have completed the construction work.
They plan to tour Tanzania and Zanzibar, before flying back from Dar-es-Salaam airport. White water rafting, safari park visits, and bungee jumps are just some of the activities on the agenda for the undergraduates.
For more information about the Wider Mbarara Project or for ticket enquiries, please contact the group at widermbarara@hotmail.co.uk, or visit their Facebook group online.
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