Good Progress...

Well hello! Its been ages since I've written anything of meaning and thats largely due to me pouring much of my life and waking hours into the Pleasuredome that is West Park Leisure Centre. I'm beginning to think of it as home, the Duty Managers as my parents and the public as strange squatters in my house. But despite the many hours spent on the dimly lit poolside, some progress has been made in my attempts to raise money for Uganda.

Firstly, the hours that I am putting into West Park are paying off in a very literal sense and taking away my fairly modest living expenditures I am beginning to get a decent pool of money that will hopefully be able to pay the first block of the Global Volunteer Network fee. This is the largest concern at the moment as there is not long left until that is due and I am certainly feeling the pressure. Still, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting clearer.

Secondly, my old primary school, Fairfield School, has agreed to put on a non-uniform day for me in January, which will hopefully raise a good amount of money for the trip. In return for this incredibly generous offer I will be holding several assemblies for the various age groups, which shall detail why I am going to Uganda, a little about the situation there and what I hope to achieve whilst I am out there. Thinking back to my primary school days I have absolutely no recollection of being aware of how fortunate I was and perhaps this is natural, but I hope that by giving these assemblies I will be able to shed some light on a distant part of the World and maybe, through this blog and contacts made out there, make some kind of connection between Fairfield and Mukono Town.

Thirdly, George Spencer School has also agreed to look into helping me raise some money and this has come as a real boost as I spent five great years at George Spencer and the school's support would mean a great deal. This is an ongoing project and I hope to make contact with the appropriate staff to see if something can be arranged.

In terms of the Uganda trip itself, I am aware that my going is gradually becoming a stark reality and not something that I am merely talking about. This is both exciting and terrifying as I begin to contemplate how I will handle myself. Those that know me will be aware how scatty I can be and how generally disorganised, which are two traits that need to be assessed before I go so I stand some chance of being ok! Also, the local wildlife is beginning to concern me as I don't deal well with things that have many legs or flutter or sting. Uganda is full of them! Still, I am getting excited and whilst the prospect of leaving family, friends and other special people is a daunting one, I know that the reasons for going are good and that I will be able to have some positive impact on the people I meet out there and I'll do all I can to get involved and help out.

Ok, I'll write more when news transpires. Anyone who does read this, thank you very much, it means a lot.

Robbie xxx