Daviot and Oldmeldrum Explorers are heading back to Uganda

The aim of the trip is to finish what the group started in 2020.

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In July 2023 Daviot and Oldmeldrum (DOM) Explorer Scouts are heading back to Uganda.

DOM Explorer Scouts have a close relationship with UK charity Uganda Lodge Community Projects who support a rural primary school in Ruhanga in SW Uganda.

In July 2018 the DOM Explorer Scouts visited to help finish building a School/ Scout Hall that they had funded.

In July 2020 a new group of DOM Explorer Scouts planned to go again, this time to help build a dormitory for the boarding children at the school.

Dormitory was built on top of the medical centre

Despite Covid-19 putting a stop to this trip, the money raised meant that the dormitory structure could be completed and was a source of local employment during the coronavirus lockdown.

A video of the dormitory being built on top of the existing school medical centre is available via the 1st Daviot Oldmeldrum Scouts YouTube channel.

The aim of the 2023 trip is to finish what was started in 2020 by completing the internal fit out of the dormitory. Ten Leaders and Fifteen Explorers are taking part in the trip.

In rural Uganda, boarding during P7 gives the pupils the best opportunity to pass their national exams – for most, the highest level of education they will reach.

The Explorers will be running the Meldrum Fun Dog show again next year.

Many of the children live in extreme poverty at least an hour’s walk away from school. Boarding gives them the chance to gain the extra tuition needed in an environment where they are well-cared for and better fed than their own families can afford at home.

The DOM Explorer Scouts will need to raise approximately £15,000 for this project. This will cover the costs to finish the dormitory and contribute to the travel and accommodation costs for the trip.

The fundraising is kicking off with a number of bag packs in local supermarkets and a Winter Wonderland with Santa Grotto at the Daviot Scout Campsite on December 11. Sunday, May 7 will see the return of the Meldrum Fun Dog show that was run in 2018 and 2019 and was extremely popular.

For further information or if you would like to donate to the fundraising, contact the Explorers at www.facebook.com/DaviotOldmeldrumExplorers/