Uganites Trip 2016

In October this year, the "Uganites" - a group of young people from Hackney Quest - will be going on a two-week trip to Uganda. Over the past year they have undertaken a detailed preparation programme, learning to coach Tag Rugby as well as developing their leadership skills. As part of this they have led a number of projects with children in Hackney, acting as brilliant leaders and role models for local young people.

In Uganda, they will be working with representatives from the Tag Rugby Trust to train young people there to become tag rugby leaders, to develop essential leadership and life skills, and most importantly to build up their own community. Tag rugby is an ideal way to bring people together; the game is suitable for all ages and genders, and no previous sports experience is necessary. It is a simple, fun and easy way for people to communicate and work together as a team. The group will also leave the communities in Uganda with all the resources to create a successful and sustainable programme, which will carry on long after they have left.

This is a huge opportunity and challenge for the "Uganites" - taking part in a project abroad like this is totally new to them, and some of them have never been out of the UK before at all. One of the group has a Ugandan father but has never been to the country, so is excited to learn more about his heritage. When writing about why they are looking forward to the trip, the group focused on the impact they want to have on the Ugandan community: "it makes me happy to impact people's lives positively"; "this will be beneficial for me, in terms of gaining experience and leadership skills, but I hope it will be more beneficial to the children we meet".

The group have done brilliantly at fundraising through a variety of events and activities, and have now raised 94% of the money they need for the trip - they are just £1,500 away from their £27,000 target! They need to raise this before their departure on the 14th of October, so if all our supporters could give just a few pounds over the next month we will reach the target!

We are grateful for the support of the Tag Rugby Trust and London Youth, who have helped to facilitate the trip.

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