Emily trip to help children through play

Nineteen year-old Emily Wheeldon will spend four weeks at Kasambira Primary School helping with the build and engaging with the children there.

She is undertaking the challenge for East African Playgrounds, a charity which aims to enrich the lives of Ugandan children by developing their learning opportunities, creativity and environments through building playgrounds and running arts and play sessions.

The charity also aims to train young men and women across East Africa to become professional builders and welders to then use their new skills to build high quality playgrounds across East Africa.

She said: “I thought it was a brilliant opportunity and a really fulfilling thing to immerse myself in a totally different culture and way of life.

“I really want to travel and see as much of the world as I can while paying something back at the same time.

“It’s scary to think about being away from home somewhere like this - there will obviously be days when I am tired bit I will just try and remember why I am there.”

Emily, who is in her second year studying Chemistry at the University of York, will be helping with the playground during the mornings and then talking part in arts and creative play sessions with the children in the afternoons.

With 44.3 per cent of the population of East Africa under the age of 14, a lack of child-friendly places to play and an incredibly high level of youth unemployment across East Africa, the charity aims to address the problem by investing in child development.

Emily needs to raise £800 before 25th May to help pay for infrastructure for the playground and training for local people in construction skills.

To make a donation visit https://yorkvolunteerproject16.everydayhero.com/uk/emily-s-ugandan-volunteer-project.

For more information visit http://eastafricanplaygrounds.org.