THE KAFUNJO COMMUNITY PROJECT

Hello good people! 👋🏼 

As some of you may know, I am travelling to Nepal next month to take on a huge personal challenge of hiking through the Nepalese Himalayan mountains to reach Everest Base Camp 🏔️. It will take us approximately 9 days to get to our destination which stands at an altitude of 5364m and requires intermittent days to acclimatise on route. I am, not surprisingly, super excited at the thought of being surrounded by awe-inspiring views of many of the worlds highest and most beautiful mountains. In recent years I have fallen in love with the mountains of Scotland (the ‘munros’) and hiking has become a huge part of my life but this will undoubtedly be my biggest challenge to date and one that will will push me out of my comfort zone. The last few years has been a stark reminder to me that life is short- I’m here for a good time, not a long time and I intend to embrace every challenge, working my way through my bucket list, with lots of laughter (and tears) along the way. 

If truth be told, I’m not a big one for charity fund raising- I don’t like the pressure it places on others and equally I don’t trust the underlying intentions or motives of many of the bigger ‘well known’ charities. So when I decided I wanted to create something positive from my trip, I immediately thought of the Kafunjo Community Project. I have followed this grassroots project via social media for many years now, initially because an old school friend Jonathon, was at the very heart of establishing it with Bruno and later, when I became a sponsor myself to one of its pupils, Nicolas. I am in awe of the things they have achieved for these Ugandan children and families and it’s heart warming to see the genuine love and humanity that is poured into the project. 

The Kafunjo Community Project tackles challenges faced by children of the region by providing safe housing for the orphan populace, free education to those who cannot afford it, adequate food for the children, and free medical care for the children and wider community. The creation of a ‘Green school’ is currently underway to deliver practical and skilled learning in subjects relevant to the needs and opportunities currently presented in Kafunjo, the rural communities of Uganda and beyond. This project is a life line to many and without it, these children would not receive the education or healthcare they need to allow them to create a future for themselves that many of us take for granted every day. 

I appreciate times are harder than ever just now, we are all feeling the frustrations of rising costs of energy, food and everything else that goes with it. These are also affecting the project in Uganda and the costs associated with providing fresh water, food, medicine and educating the children is ever increasing. My trip to Nepal is entirely self funded and every penny raised through this page will go directly to the Kafunjo project. I’d be super grateful if you could spare a donation, no matter how small, to help make a difference to the challenges they are facing every day. This project has an immensely positive impact on so many children’s lives and you can be assured that every penny will be used to continue doing just that. If you got this far, Thanks so much for reading, 

Love, light and mountain climbs, 

Cat ✌🏼♥️🏔️

PS. You can read more about the project here👇🏼& they have an awesome Facebook and website if you’d like to sponsor a child ☺️ ~ “Be the change you want to see in the world” 🌍✌🏼

The Kafunjo Community Project has successfully been established and running since 2013 in Ibanda Province, south-west Uganda. Primarily concerned with tackling challenges faced by children of the region, this grassroots project has sought to develop safe housing for the orphan populace, free education to those who cannot afford it, adequate food for the children, and free medical care for the children and wider community. 

With support of sponsorship and donations acquired through online campaigns on social media platforms and volunteer fundraising events, the project has successfully developed into an orphanage housing 152 children, a high achieving primary school which currently provides free education to 382 children, a new medical clinic and around 42 hectares of arable land with a view to develop sustainable food security. In addition we provide financial support to 27 Kafunjo graduates presently studying at secondary school and 8 others who are pursuing vocational studies in Field Guiding and Tourism.

We are presently constructing The Kafunjo Green School on our land with the aim to deliver a curriculum of practical, skilled learning in a variety of subjects relevant to the needs and opportunities currently presented in Kafunjo, the rural communities of Uganda and beyond. In addition we are building volunteer accommodation to encourage both short and long term stays to assist us in meeting our running costs whilst welcoming fresh perspectives from our supporters around the world