Uganda Visit Report

In the month of August a team of 11 volunteers from Holy Trinity Church Bradley Stoke, Bristol went on a trip to the Tigers Club project in Kampala. Among them were four 17 year olds, Will Churchill, Darren Williams, Jono Howie and Dave Watkins. This is their account:

Arriving at the clubhouse, we didn’t quite know what to expect; there was a feeling of excitement and apprehension. How would 11 strange ‘mzungus’ be received? As it turned out, we needn’t have worried. Our greeting was unbelievable. The boys who surrounded the bus welcomed us in a way that David Beckham would have been envious of. It was deeply humbling as they instantly expressed how grateful they were for us just being there, even though we hadn’t yet done anything with them. After meeting the Tigers staff, we had the chance to talk with the boys. This was one of the highlights of the trip; the boys were eager to find out everything about us, from our favourite football teams, to how many brothers and sisters we had. They were also amazed by things which would not normally come into everyday conversation, such as body hair!

Talking to the boys was such an eye-opening experience,and yet somehow it didn't quite register - it couldn't be real. There was no way that a child of 12 years old could have seen both parents die, and have to fight for his survival on the streets of Kampala, and yet still have the ability to laugh and play games. To be able to get on with life in such a way requires a strength that we, in our relatively cotton-wool and bubbled-wrapped existence, cannot begin to fathom.

The 2nd part of our trip saw us running a holiday club at Tudabujja. The first thing that struck us was that Tudabujja seemed a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of the busy centre of Kampala. It only took a few minutes though to realise that these boys were from the Tigers Club – everyone was playing the same games (thumb wars, anyone?) and had the same huge grins on their faces. Having come from the clubhouse and seeing the state of the slum areas, it was so uplifting to see that these boys are given the chance they deserve, through Tudabujja and the Tigers Project.

Witnessing the boys graduate from the Tiger’s club into society was testament to the fact that Retrak fulfils its adage: enabling street children to realise their potential and discover their worth.

Now that we are back, people often ask us what it was that we did for the charity. To be honest, we think we took back with us things that are far more valuable than those we left. At the end of our time at Tudabujja, we presented the boys with a number of items, including a games parachute. It’s almost impossible to describe how much they loved it.

But we all agree that the memory of the smiles on their faces is worth far more to us than that parachute could be to anyone.