Phil Volunteers in Uganda 2019! Donate I’ve signed up with the charity East African Playgrounds to raise £2000 to give children their childhood through play. Play has an incredible benefit on a child’s development and I believe every child should have this opportunity because it builds physical, social, emotional and cognitive skills. It also gives them a space in which to make sense of the world and exercise freedom of thought.East African playgrounds builds playgrounds across Uganda- including refugee camps- helping to empower some of the world’s most disadvantaged children. ‘What a difference your donation makes’:£5.11 gives one child their childhood back through access to a safe, fun and child-focussed playground.£21.83 educates a teacher on the importance of including play in education and creates a peer network for them to share their learning.£72.80 equips a former street child with everything they need to learn the basics of welding, from their own set of work boots through to ear defenders and glasses. £131 teaches a community of care givers and educators about the importance of play at home and school, as well as maintain their playground. £197.61 trains a former street child for a month, helping them to become a qualified builder or welder through our apprenticeship scheme. This summer I will be joining a team of paid Ugandan professionals and other volunteers to help build a playground in Uganda. Please help me reach my fundraising target by giving whatever you can- any donation will make a difference. This summer I will spend three weeks in Uganda- taking on every kind of terrain the world offers (mountain, lakes, jungles) before volunteering on a playground build myself. Of the 2,000 I raise, £300 will go to Uganda Wildlife Authority to help the conservation efforts of the gorilla I will be visiting. £600 will go on project costs of food, accommodation and travel, most of which will go to a non-project trek company, the Home of Edirisa, who support the communities we will trek through. The remaining £1,100 will go directly to East African playgrounds to fund their incredible work. *Please note, if you are a relative of mine you cannot gift aid your donation according to charity lawPlease donate what you can to give the children in Uganda their childhoods.I am also fundraising for my flights, so any money I raise above the £2,000 can be reimbursed by East African Playgrounds to me (upon request), up to the cost of my flight. Philip Russell