Who Is Going?
A group of 15 young people and youth leaders from across the Diocese are travelling to Uganda this July in order to meet and work with other young people in Uganda.
The group will come from three different parts of the Diocese including three from Pinehurst here in Swindon. All of them come from parts of the diocese that are designated as areas of urban deprivation.
What’s it all about?
The trip aims to help the young people grow their confidence, faith and leadership skills, as they experience God and Christians in a different part of the world. They will be working alongside vulnerable young people living on the streets of Kampala, and will be staying in a village community in rural Uganda – sharing in their lives and spending time in their schools. There will also be a visit to a rural fishing community and a short time in a wilderness area.
Dan Jones Our Youth and Children’s Adviser and Chris Dobson will be leading the trip. A number of the young people have never travelled abroad before, so will be exploring a new culture for the first time on the 12-day trip.
Tom from Swindon writes: “My name is Tom, I am in year 11 and attend Swindon Academy Secondary School. I have recently started to get into photography so to be able to have a portfolio with images of such an amazing country like this will be great to capture. I am really looking forward to my first ever flight.”
Dan said: “From experience, taking groups away from their comfort zones bring challenges, but we hope this will broaden their horizons to what they can achieve and how they can make a difference in the world. It is about seeing their own faith grow and realising their own passions and potential.”
How do we finance this?
Without the help of the wider diocese, they may not be able to raise the money they need for this trip. They are planning a sponsored cycle ride for Saturday, 5th May and Sunday, 6th May when they will try to visit as many churches as possible within the three deanery set the young people have been drawn from.
Currently £9,929 has been raised but another £14,000 needs to be raised for August. So it is a significant sum.
They will be cycling 18 miles from St Andrews Church Avonmouth and finishing up at Pinehurst Academy on the Sunday afternoon. On the way they will visit 31 different churches. They would love it if a number of us were able to meet them at 2:20 PM on the Sunday afternoon of 7th May, to provide them with a cold drink and to meet the team and be photographed with them.
To donate online please Google Virgin Media Giving Youth Visit Uganda and you will end up on the right page. They won’t get there without our help.