School for Life

Greeted with big smiles at Katuuso Primary School

Arriving at the School for Life school at play time was perfect timing. We were greeted with big smiles from the children and joined in their games of catch and skipping and watched them play the African game of choice, rolling tyres up and down.

One of the 80 children benefiting from School for Life

School for Life is an incredible grass roots organisation set up by a good friend, Dave, and his business partner, Annabelle.

Visiting Katuuso Primary School to see firsthand the impact they are having on the lives of children and the local community was an incredible experience.

Opened in 2011 the school began with one class. The children attending are entitled to their schooling here for free although a 20,000 Shilling (about £5) donation is asked for as a gesture of their commitment and to assist with the running costs of the school. The children here receive outstanding education with the primary class of 40 children having two teachers dedicated to them (class sizes in Uganda are often 70+)

Getting a great education

The class rooms themselves are wonderful and bright; great learning environments for the children and a stark contrast to other African schools I have visited.

Both staff and children are full of smiles as the bell rings and they line up ready to go back to class after playtime.

Currently in the middle of expanding, construction is underway on new class rooms and a library. Every detail of the project is thoroughly thought through; the bricks are all handmade on site which is not only cheaper but also much better for the environment. The construction workers are employed from the local area to give income back into the rural community.

Queuing to go back to class

The borehole, one of the first things implemented at the school, is also for the use of the whole community. Providing safe drinking water for the children and their families.

Dave shows us the borehole 

As if this wasn’t enough Dave also showed us the new agricultural plots. Crops of maize, beans, cabbages, etc are peaking our through the red dirt – all planted to assist with the school feeding programme. The children receive breakfast, morning tea and lunch so growing the crops at the school is ideal to provide the food. Cash crops of chillies are growing well and coffee will soon be grown and sold as a further income stream.

Dave showing us the new crops

Great learning environment for the children

I’m so impressed with everything School for Life is doing to support the children in Katuuso Primary and am looking forward to hearing about their expansion plans.

School for Life is an Australian registered charity and relies on donations  to implement its amazing work. Lots of luck to them in their fundraising and in everything they are doing for children in Uganda.

Climbing Snowdon

Kilimanjaro Brochure

It’s just 10 weeks until I set out for UNICEF’s Trek Kilimanjaro for the World’s Children As part of my training I wanted to climb Snowdon. Luckily a couple of mates were up for the challenge, including my travel buddy, Lizz. Lizz summated Kili last year so has lots of tips and advice to offer. In fact she and her sister, Kat, feature on the front cover of our brochure 

Friends, old and new, set off to Wales early Saturday morning. British summer wasn't playing ball and as we crossed the border into Wales the heavens opened! After a five hour drive we aimed for the car park of the Pyg Track. Even in the pouring rain it was full so we drove further down the mountain, meaning we began our hike by walking two miles up to the beginning of the track.

Ready to go

To be honest the first twenty minutes or so were really hard work and made me realise I need to up my training for Kili. But after I’d got into the swing of it I began to really enjoy it.

The rain subsided for a while and the atmosphere on the mountain was jovial. Snowden is the most popular mountain to climb in the UK and taking the well trodden route up we met lots of fellow trekkers. Some were in training, some raising funds for charity, some taking the dog for a walk and others achieving a lifelong ambition.

Half way 

Unfortunately the rain didn't give us much respite and as we were approaching the summit it poured heavier and heavier. As well as physical training for my challenge this was also a good opportunity to test out my kit. My ‘waterproof’ jacket is not waterproof enough to handle the Welsh rain so I'm not going to risk it on Kili.

The wind picked up and the clouds were swirling around us. I actually thought I would be blown over! We could barely make out the trigpoint in the mist but as we carefully made our way to it we were really proud to have made it to the top!

We made it!

Grateful for the cafe at the top we dug into pastries and warmed up with hot chocolate. Unfortunately there was no view to admire though.

View from the top

The first half of the walk down was mostly in the rain so we had to pick our way carefully as everything was becoming even more slippery. As we overlooked one of the lakes below the late afternoon sun began to peak through the clouds for a while.

Sheep!

With just another half an hour to go I almost landed flat on my face. I tripped but luckily Lizz was there to break my fall. All that was going through my mind when I fell was “oh no, I’m going to knock Lizz off the mountain.” Apparently at that same second she was thinking, “oh no, Alyrene’s going to break her nose.” Luckily neither happened and after a lot of giggling we continued to the base.

2.5 hours up, 2 hours down and 1,085 meters climbed! What a great achievement but there’s still a long way to go to reach the 5,895 meters summit of Kilimanjaro.

If anyone would like to join me and the rest of the UNICEF Trekkers on my next adventure we’d love to welcome you to the team. For more info email trek@unicef.org.uk or sign up today!

An African Motorcycle Diary

October is one of my favourite times of year. As the sun begins to disappear in the UK and the leaves start turning orange I pack my bags and head to South Africa. This year, however I boarded the flight to Jo’burg leaving behind an unusually hot sunny day in London and after a long journey arrived in a small town called Alicedale in South Africa. 

Enduro Africa is an amazing off-road motorbike rally run by adventure company Global Enduro. Thirty-four bikers have just completed eight days of tough riding along the Wild Coast. They have tackled river crossings, the mighty gorge and too many obstacles to mention.

As always they were a fantastic group of people. From a range of backgrounds and interests they all came together to raise funds for UNICEF, Sentebale, The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and Touch Africa by completing this adventure of a lifetime.

This is the fourth year UNICEF has benefited from Enduro Africa. To date they've donated a fantastic £280,000 for our work with HIV and AIDS in South Africa. With 17 per cent of the adult population living with HIV this support is absolutely vital.

Some of the riders knew what to expect, having taken part in Enduro or other Global Enduro events in the past. Others have had a steep learning curve. They were introduced to their Honda CRF 230s and after a short warm up in the quarry they were put into their groups according to their riding ability.

The orange, green and blue  team shirts quickly lost their pristine look after a week of mud, dust, sweat and tears.

Every day brought new experiences, none of the ‘paths’ taken is suitable for 4-wheel drive vehicles so riders got to see and experience parts of the Eastern Cape that no other tourists, or very few people for that matter, ever see. 

They crossed through ancient mountain passes only accessible by bike and cattle herders. They picked their lines carefully, watching for obstacles like rocks, washaways, free roaming animals, sudden drop offs, not to mention the other bikes. 

The multitude of river crossings gave them the opportunity to cool down as they attempted to ride through in waste-deep water, navigating the rocks beneath. Some managed to get through but many bikes drowned, were quickly pulled out again, drained and moved onto the next obstacle...

One of the many  things I have come to love about these trips is the camaraderie of the teams and the spirit in which everyone looks after each other (as well as a odd practical joke!) The team leaders and sweeps work tirelessly to ensure that everyone gets through the day safely. The medics and mechanics are always close by, should they be needed to fix a bike - or a biker. 

Everyone has returned home a little battered and bruised but with new friends, all thoroughly proud of what they have achieved, how much they have learnt and the legacy they have left for the children in South Africa and Lesotho.

The adventure begins all over again as the second group arrive in Durban today and set off south down the coast. Lots of luck to them; if they have just half as much fun as the first group they too will have the adventure of a lifetime with memories to last forever.

If you would like to get involved with Enduro Africa next year visit www.enduroafrica.com 

Trek for the children of Namibia: one month to go

This time next month I'll be in the Namib desert with 16 UNICEF fundraisers. We're trekking 115 kilometres through the oldest desert in the world to the Skeleton Coast, hiking over sand dunes and dodging hyenas and other wildlife. All in 35-40 degrees heat.

The challenge began months ago for the trekkers who've been training and fundraising to support the rights of children in Namibia.

One of our trekkers, Amy, has been fundraising in everyway she can think of. She's organised a regular vintage cake stall in her office,  put up a display at her gym with sponsor forms and a collection tin, given swimming lessons for 40 children at her local pool, and she's also busy with car boot sales and gigs. Phew!

Amy's not the only one to have organised gigs: another trekker, Phil, was sponsored to stay on stage for 24 hours solid and raised £2,600!

Other trekkers have been out with collecting buckets: Adrian raised £177 in just one day like this at Oxford train station.

There are BBQs, garden parties, quiz nights and many raffles going on to help the trekkers reach their target of £3,250 to take part in the trek.

As I write this I'm surrounded by cakes for a cake bake I’m holding in the UNICEF UK office to raise some extra funds.

Our trekkers are also raising money via our very own online fundraising site, My Fundraising.

These donations will be used to realise children’s rights in Namibia and the trekkers will have the opportunity to visit UNICEF projects.

Forty per cent of children in Namibia are not registered at birth. This means that schools, health clinics and other children's services are not provided. Not having a birth certificate makes children more vulnerable to trafficking or exploitation. We'll be visiting one of the 22 birth registration facilities that UNICEF has set up in partnership with the government. 

UNICEF uses sport as a way to educate children, promote a healthy life style and develop children’s skills. In Namibia we'll be visiting the Kwata Cricket Initiative at a local school and might even get to play in a mini cricket match with the girls taking part in the programme.

On our last day we'll visit an HIV prevention programme for high school children. UNICEF runs this with the Ministry of Education in 72 per cent of secondary schools in Namibia. It's a way to educate young people about HIV prevention and life skills, and with around 16 new infections a day in Namibia, it's a vital part of helping prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS. 
  
I’m really looking forward to showing the trekkers what UNICEF is doing, and letting them see first hand just how vital their support is. I must say I'm not looking forward quite so much to the prospect of not showering for eight days!

If you're feeling inspired, you can read about our next trek, which will take us up the highest free-standing mountain in the world, Mount Kilimanjaro.