Hello friends, family and colleagues,

On the 11th November 2010 I will be flying out to Uganda for 9 days to help build a secondary school for 450 children in a village called Buikwe. This is a registered charity initiative that my company set up and the money I raise will go directly into paying for construction materials, manual labour and the teaching facilities / materials.

In the area where the school is being built there is a severe lack of secondary education and children usually finish primary school and go straight into work. We hope to bridge the gap between primary education and University in order to give these children the best start in life and the opportunity to follow their dreams.

I will be going over there with a group of colleagues and will help with the construction of the school as well as visit a local medical centre and a children's home. There is a chance I may even be able to teach a class and I hope to be able to give a beginners Spanish lesson.

For those of you who know me well, you will understand that this is a huge privilege for me and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity I have been given to help out in this small way.

Among a few other fundraising activities organised at work, I will also be running a half marathon (13 miles) on the 30th October in Brighton. The race starts at midnight on the night that the clocks change, so I hope to shave an hour off my time and impress you all!

Thank you so much for making the time to sponsor me.  I will be sure to let you know how I get on in Uganda.

Andrea

p.s. My company is fully funding the cost of the trip, so please be assured that this money will only go towards the charity.