If you love Africa - STAND UP!

So!

I found this charity online. I wasn't looking for a charity at all. This trip has always been my dream and all about me... But I felt compelled to call. I spoke to Elsie who just blew me away with her bright voice and JUST DO IT attitude. Before I knew it, I agreed to support them by raising money for a youth centre in Uganda. I've won Paul over and he is fired up too. We've also agreed to go there and get stuck in; in the hands on kind of way.

We don't have loads of time to get LOADS sorted so I'll keep it short and let these very pro-active and enthusiastic people tell their story. Here is a small clip from Neil who is the project manager on the Uganda thing we are doing:

FROM NEIL: Ok, so our partner organisation in Uganda is called the Safe Alternatives For Youth Association. They work with young people in one of the poorest slums in Kampala and try to offer a framework for healthy living. With an overall goal of contributing to Uganda's national fight against HIV/AIDS, they aim to reduce youth vulnerability through education, information and recreation. They provide youth friendly services, raise awareness about key sexual and reproductive health issues and offer counselling, training and healthy activities for kids to partake in during their free time.

SAFY has been up and running for over three years now and has made a very tangible positive difference to its small target community. It is based in Kitmanyangamba village (an area of Kampala) and is slowly expanding to the surrounding areas. We recently established a youth network with five local schools and this has seen a dramatic increase in the organisation's reach.

Currently, operations are directed from a very small, one-room office/ drop-in centre in the heart of the community. This is a key resource and is permanently full of young people but is unfortunately far too small to cater for SAFY's ever-expanding activities and membership.

At SUFA we are trying to raise the necessary funds to build a larger, more comprehensive Centre on an adjacent plot of land, already owned by the organisation. We have plans for its development, equipment to fill it, staff to man it and young people to benefit from it. The only thing we are lacking is of course the financial resource necessary for its construction but, hopefully by the time you arrive, this will have been secured and the next phase of the organisation's development will begin.

To read more about Stand up for Africa go to their website on http://www.standupforafrica.org.uk/