I'm going to shave off all my hair at the start of December to raise funds for Uganda Lodge who I am volunteering with next summer.  I've been challenged to raise £150, but I'm hoping to raise more than this because I do have a lot of hair just now!  

In July 2023, 25 Explorers and Leaders from Daviot Oldmeldrum Explorer Scouts will spend two weeks in Uganda helping to finish a much needed dormitory at a school in Ruhanga, South West Uganda. We will also volunteer at the Ruhanga Development School, helping with after-school activities and general maintenance. During the expedition we will also participate in joint activities with the local scout group based at the school. We will be using local materials and will assist local tradesmen, meaning we will be giving as much as possible to a local community as well as developing our young people’s skills and life experiences.

In rural Uganda, boarding during P7 gives the pupils the best opportunity to pass their national exams – for most, the highest level of education they will reach. Many of the children live in extreme poverty at least an hour’s walk away from school. Boarding gives them the chance to gain the extra tuition needed in an environment where they are well-cared for and better fed than their own families can afford at home.

The dormitory building itself was completed following the successful fundraising from our ill fated 2020 trip, however it needs a further £10,000 to finish the internal fit out and plumbing. On top of this we need to raise a further £5,000 to put towards the travel and accommodation costs for the scout volunteers. All monies raised for the dormitory will be donated to Uganda Lodge Community Projects (ULCP), an English registered charity (1150023) to procure the local materials and labour for the build. ULCP’s purpose is to support community projects in the village of Ruhanga in partnership with a local non-government registered organisation “Stand On Your Own”.  Any remaining monies will go toward the travel/accommodation costs of the volunteers who are part of the Gordon District Scout Council, a Scottish registered charity (SC032636), but anything you donate on this page will go directly to Uganda Lodge.