This Autumn will find me project leading a team to Uganda for the charity Cricket Without Boundaries (CWB). I have been involved in this amazing charity for almost 4 years which has 3 main goals:

1. To spread cricket through coaching children and teaching adults how to coach; 

2. To link the sport to HIV/AIDS awareness and incorporate these messages into coaching sessions; and

3.To bring together and empower local communities through cricket.

I went on my first CWB project to Rwanda in 2010 and quite simply it moved me. Most of us see images of the daily struggle people living in sub-saharan Africa have on our TVs but when you see it first hand it hits you smack in the face. Most of the children I met didn't seem materially wealthy but they were rich with wide smiles, obvious talent and buckets of energy. CWB harnesses that enthusiasm and uses cricket as a medium for teaching vital HIV/AIDS awareness messages to the children and adult coaches.

Your generous donation will go a long way to fund cricket equipment that we leave out in Africa, to pay our local ambassadors, for transport, coaching cards and HIV/AIDS awareness materials. Your support really does make a difference and I am so grateful.

Since that life changing trip, I have continued to be very involved in the charity on the cricket development side. Now I run the training weekends where we prepare volunteers going on projects for the time of their lives and make sure they are ready to teach vital HIV/AIDS awareness messages through cricket to children and coaches. 

It will be brilliant to see how our work continues to have an impact on people's lives and to get a reality check after working "in the back office" and help me to shape our future training weekends.

Check out our website for more information, how to become a volunteer, images, blogs & videos about previous projects and our fabulous charity at www.cricketwithoutboundaries.com 

Heartfelt thanks and I look forward to sharing my story with you as it unfolds.

Sally :-)