Archive for the 'East African Playgrounds News' Category

August
25th 2010
Another month has come and gone…

Posted under East African Playgrounds News

… we can’t believe how time is flying!

This month we have been in Buwagi – a rural village outside of Jinja - with some fantastic volunteers and some exceptional locals. The project was marked with the sound of endless giggles and ended with many tears. It’s safe to say that the project was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

The playground was built at a resource centre right in the middle of the community. Locals were involved in every part of the build. Our team lived with two families throughout the project, so it was very sad to say our goodbyes.

In the last week, we made the most of our time, celebrating the finish of the project with a British barbecue (without the rain) for the local community to come, eat and play games. Then on Monday we had our open day. Joshua (the Lively Minds co-ordinator) organised for all of our volunteers to wear traditional clothing and to perform a traditional dance (cue a lot of hip-wiggling!)… we certainly entertained the community that day!

Last but not least, the playground went down a treat – the children were surrounding the swings to wait their turn, and getting very dizzy on the roundabout! So a huge thank you to all of you who made the Buwagi project possible – you made it a fantastic one!

With lots of love,

The EAP Team x

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August
12th 2010
*Buwagi Project Update*

Posted under East African Playgrounds News

We are now half way through the Buwagi project. The playground is coming along well – everything is cemented in, and almost everything is sanded down (thanks to the hard work of the volunteers and some fantastic locals).

We have a local called Ken on our projects who we are training up to be our foreman. Everyone is enjoying his company and he is enjoying the project too. We also have Bill Norton (who volunteered on the 2009 Walukuba West Uganda Project) helping us out. It is fantastic to have an extra pair of hands!

The volunteers are doing great, enjoying a taste of rural life in Uganda… like walking for 15 minutes for water. Two of the volunteers carried 20 litres of water on their heads the whole way back! They have also enjoyed two weekends away – one to Sipi Falls where they abseiled down the waterfall; and one horse riding and relaxing on an island, playing volleyball and trying out the natural jaccuzi.

The locals are all getting involved with the build. We have a fantastic cook called Monica, who is fueling the team (and teaching the girls to dance Uganda style!), and her daughter Shefa who is 1 ½ years old who is slowly growing more confident with us! We also have Joshua with us, who is the co-ordinator of Lively Minds (this project’s partner charity) who is always busy running around doing favours for the community – and generally being a great help.

There are many more friends we have made within the community and we are so pleased with the progress we are making on the project. So a massive THANK YOU to our volunteers, colleagues, friends and supporters who have made this project possible.

Sending love from Buwagi,
Tom & Carla x

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July
12th 2010
Quick Update

Posted under East African Playgrounds News

Hello all – just a quick update to assure you that, in light of the recent bombings in Kampala, EAP and all the team are safe and sound in Bugembe – no-one was in Kampala at the time of the bombings.

Our thoughts are with all those who have been affected by or suffered loss through these events.

The EAP Team

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July
3rd 2010
Dates for Your Diary

Posted under East African Playgrounds News

Mornin’ all… here are some dates for your diary so you can keep track of what EAP is up to over the summer – busy busy!

17th – 18th June – Bugembe volunteers arrive
16th July – Bugembe project ends
24th July – Buwagi volunteers arrive
20th August – Buwagi project ends
3rd September – Juja Farm volunteers arrive
1st October – Juja Farm project ends
… followed by two weeks of research on next year’s projects – watch this space!

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July
3rd 2010
Second Project Update!

Posted under East African Playgrounds News

So it’s the end of our second week out here and things are going amazingly. The team of volunteers has gelled really well and have managed to work solidly all week with some fantastic results. As it stands the playground has almost all of the structures cemented in and sanded down, all ready to be painted next week.

More updates to follow soon… x

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