Deeds, not stones, are the true monuments of the great – John L. Motley.

It’s 6: 58 PM on day 118 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself  Pasta for breakfast,  tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – still no luck:( –  feed myself rice and curry for lunch and exercise for 20 minutes – my  left still feels like it’s on fire – aw 🙁    

In a world where fame and fortune take precedence over true greatness we seldom take the opportunity to celebrate those who serve humanity selflessly which is why I would like to introduce you to Sophie Brown – the girl who restored my faith in the youth of today.

I’m a 15 year old school girl who visited Uganda with my mum for the first time in August 2010. Whilst there, I assisted at a school in South-West Uganda set up by a local with the help of funding by Ann McCarthy (a Surrey grandmother) with lessons and games, helped serve the daily helping of porridge to the children (for many of the 150 children this is their only guaranteed meal every day), and basically had a great time learning about a very different culture. During our 2 weeks we also had the opportunity to see the capital city, Kampala, attend a wedding and a funeral in the village (they’re very different to any I’ve ever attended before!), spend a weekend at the beautiful border area of Lake Bunyoni, and went on a memorable 3 day camping safari. The local football team entertained us with a couple of very competitive (mostly barefoot!) league football games and we entertained ourselves in the evenings playing pool and chatting to the locals who visited Uganda Lodge.
All in all, we had an amazing experience with local Ugandan villagers who were very poor in material terms but so very rich in spiritual terms. It was a joyful and humbling experience which will live with us forever.

Since coming back to the UK I’ve been planning my return trip which will take place in summer 2011. I am aiming to raise £250 towards the balance of my travelling costs and £1000 towards building a classroom for village children in rural South-West Uganda which I’ll be able to complete by helping to paint and supply with English and Maths aids to encourage the kids’ learning whilst out in Uganda!

I would be so grateful for ANY support you can give. Please remember to gift aid if you can! It really does make a difference.

For more information about this cause, please visit www.ugandalodge.com or email me at sophiee.brown@live.co.uk or tweet me at www.twitter.com/SophieBrown95