7 families & 7 boys are driving forward an initiative to raise funds in support of a volunteering trip to Botswana & Zambia in the summer of 2019.

The 7 boys have been friends since childhood and are now in there 6th and final year of school at Bearsden Academy which is located on the outskirts of Glasgow.

The team which will consist of 7 boys and 4 dads will support & volunteer at an organisation called Home For AIDS Orphans, the organisation is based in Mwandi which is a village in Zambia located between Livingstone and Sesheke. 

Home for AIDS Orphans works with the local community to improve the living conditions for those most vulnerable in society, especially young children who have been orphaned by AIDS. It was initially established as the United Church of Zambia Mission Partners Mwandi, by Dan and Paula Van Zyl. In 2014 they became a registered Not for Profit Organisation and began operating as Home for AIDS Orphans.

During the last decade the proportion of children who were orphaned as a result of AIDS rose from 3.2% to 32% & will continue to increase exponentially as the disease spreads unchecked - currently, figures show that over 11 million children in Southern Africa are orphaned as a result of AIDS.

The group will be supporting the AIDS Orphan Organisation by building traditional safe and stable mud homes. At the time of the trip, the boys will have just completed their 6th and final year of schooling. As 6th year pupils they had the option to consider other organised volunteering trips which similarly involve a self-funding aspect, however, at a cost of around £4,500 the group took it upon themselves to think outside the box and consider a more organic, authentic and grassroots approach to giving back.

In order to further help the HfA organisation, the team are looking to fund some of there other community projects, in particular a 2nd and very much need classroom facility.

This particular cause is one that is very close to the heart of the Wright family, who will have 3 generations take part in the trip. Jimmy Wright who was born in Zambia but grew up Botswana with his parents will be sharing the journey with his dad Roger and son Tiaan.

As a young boy, Jimmy’s family, spent a large portion of their time in the game reserves, wild life and nature were always a large part of what they did as a family with Jimmy's first camping trip being when he was only weeks old. In 2012 & again 2015, Tiaan, got to experience the beauty that is Botswana & Zambia. His subsequent love of the country and wildlife have since been shared with family and friends. The family connection, past and present, to this part of the world is what led to the other members of the group choosing this region and The Home For Aids Orphans as the perfect and most obvious choice as somewhere to fulfil not only the trip of a lifetime but also an incredibly worthwhile voluntary cause.