Fundraising

I'm not going to say a whole lot about it here as I have a seperate fundraising page for that at www.justgiving.com/nicolacameron , other than since last August I've been busy busy busy raising funds towards my target of £4480. It was daunting at the start as I opened up a letter titled "FUNDRAISING DEADLINES" in bold but I've really embraced the challenge and after getting my head round all the organising I can honestly say its been enjoyable... PHEW!

The story so far

Okay, so I've started this blog to keep a sort of online journal of my gap year that I'm going to be taking in Uganda, Africa. Even though I'm not entirely sure what kind of internet connection I'll have out there!

So basically, in August I'm planning on spending an entire twelve months in Uganda, running youth clubs and providing activities for the children including sports clubs and arts & crafts classes.
I'll be working alongside the local people which means living exactly as they do, ie. surviving without technology and at times running water and electricity.

I will be going out with a partner, who I have yet to meet, but I'm sure we'll get along fine :)
This gap year is organised by the non-profit charity Project Trust, who are based on the Isle of Coll.

To do this I had to raise £4480 for Project Trust, which pays for flights, insurance, overseas support, food, etc.

This year will certainly be challenging but hopefully an experience of a lifetime and beneficial for my host community!

So why did I choose to take a gap year?

Well I had originally planned to go straight to university after school, but after 5th year I was still unsure of what course to apply for since I kept changing my mind. So one of the reasons for taking a year out is rather than to enter further education for the sake of getting a degree, I'm removing myself from the academic system to allow myself to decide upon what I really want to study.

Looking into various options, I decided I didn't want to purchase a round the world ticket going from backpacker’s hostel to backpackers hostel. Although this would be great fun, I wanted something more meaningful to use my year with that will make a difference.

Project Trust seems the perfect choice because I will be totally emersed a culture completely different from my own and I will be doing this as one of the locals, not a tourist.

Selection course

After applying for Project trust, I was invited to the PT headquarters on the Isle of Coll for a compulsory selection week. It was an exciting few days where I threw myself into all the tasks such as the lazy bed digging where we basically had to plough a field with a spade! We were also tested on spelling, essay writing & presentation skills. This allowed PT to see what our strengths and weaknesses were and let us talk about country options.

I met some fantastic people during my time on Coll and came back just wanting to leave for my gap there and then! A week later I got my acceptance letter confirming my placement in Uganda :)

Now, I'm very much looking forward to my training course back at the Hebridean Centre where I will learn all the essential information about the country and meet everyone else traveling with me!