As some of you may know, last summer I volunteered as part of UCD Volunteer Overseas in Kisiizi Hospital, Uganda. Once again, I would like to sincerely thank all of you who helped with my fundraising for the project, none of it would have been possible without your generous donations. This year, I am fortunate enough to be able to return to Uganda as a Student Leader with UCDVO. This time, I will be travelling to Nansana Health Centre in Uganda with a team of volunteers from a range of disciplines, including physiotherapy, nutrition, medicine, nursing and science. We will be working with an Irish charity called Nurture Africa. This organisation aims to nurture the development of vulnerable children and adults through healthcare, education and sustainable livelihood projects.  Over the course of four weeks, I will be mainly working alongside a teamof physiotherapy students and professionals to provide additional physiotherapy services to the Nurture Africa Health Centre in Nansana. We will work alongside the fantastic local rehabilitation team to assist in the running of a family-oriented rehabilitative camp for local children with various disabilities such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida and hydrocephalus.  Each day, the children and their mothers or carers will attend physiotherapy sessions in which we will provide much-needed physiotherapy interventions and group therapy. The mothers and carers will also be given the opportunity to attend workshops which will provide advice and education in areas such as management of their child’s disability, nutrition, first aid, general & mental health and family planning. We will be working closely with the families throughout the camps, in order to provide support and education to help to facilitate continuation of therapy when they return home after camp. Children will also be provided with equipment and assistive devices such as standing frames, walking frames, specialised seating and wheelchairs, where needed.  Each volunteer has been asked to raise a sum of €1,200, all of which will go directly to the project. These funds will support our team to carry out the therapies and education, and also covers the cost of the running of the camps for children with disabilities, physiotherapy equipment, educational resources and aids such as wheelchairs, frames and seating. Funding will also go towards education of children in local schools and sustainable livelihood programmes for local entrepreneurs and small businesses. I would greatly appreciate any donations you may be able to make towards the project, no matter how small. I can assure you that the funds will be put to great use and will be greatly valued and appreciated by all of the families involved.  

Voluntary organisation for UCD students, staff and graduates to engage in volunteering and global citizenship education programmes.