Michael Schellekens (L6, R) and Scarlett Zein (U6, O) write about their experience of travelling to Uganda to support the Mityana Charity.

Over half term, 19 members of the Raglan and Orange houses travelled to Uganda to support the Mityana Charity, which both houses sponsor. Pupils were involved in many activities over the nine days of the trip.

The Orange attended a Human Rights Conference on the first day. This included presentations from members of the children’s rights community advocating for different protection rights that needed to be reinforced or indeed established. This conference exposed us to the hardships that children face every day, and the fact that they do not share the liberties that we do in the UK.

We assisted in the building of the Raglan Hall, an education centre in Mityana. This was one of the highlights of our trip as in between the hours of hard (but enjoyable) labour, we played with local school children and shared soft drinks with the other builders who were teaching us how to brick lay and level ground for a path.

One of the most memorable experiences from the trip was the visit to the children’s rehabilitation centre. Here children, who have suffered major injuries or illnesses, are able to stay and recuperate and receive the relevant care that they need to improve their quality of life. It was humbling and enlightening to visit the children and interact with them by playing games, as their positive outlook on life impacted the way we viewed our own.

A visit to a school for deaf children was a very moving experience: the children were extremely cheerful and were willing to teach us sign language and play games with us. Additionally, we were shown how to play football by a team of school boys in a football match during our visit to Nabukenya Primary School, which was built over a decade ago by the Orange and Blucher houses. Despite our best efforts, their fantastic footballing talent managed to overwhelm our defence and beat us in a very enjoyable match.

Overall, we all thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Uganda, as we got to immerse ourselves in a new culture and experience first-hand how great an effect our donations from the Orange and the Raglan make to the schools and other establishments out there. Most of all, we loved interacting with the children and individuals we met while out there – they have impacted our lives and the way in which we view matters significantly.

The trip will be something that the Wellington students will remember for the rest of their lives.