Published: 11 October 2012
Leeds College of Art has teamed up with East African Playgrounds to offer its students a potentially life changing opportunity to volunteer in Uganda building a community playground and running arts and craft activities with local children.
The project is calling on all students who would like to get involved with international volunteering and those with the spirit to be part of an amazing project. East African Playgrounds works extensively in Uganda and many communities them approach them to help build play facilities for their children. It’s sad but very often Ugandan children lack good quality, well maintained leisure activities that are simple and free to access.
East African Playgrounds is looking to build a team of 12 volunteers to go out to Uganda for a month in August 2013. They will see the project from start to completion; by raising funds to buy the materials, to digging the playground foundations and assisting a team of Ugandan welders to build each structure. On top of this the students will volunteer to work with school children on arts and crafts activities culminating in a giant outdoor mural by the end of the month.
David Braham Head of Internationalisation at College says: ‘Projects like these help students gain skills that will enhance their CV and are transferable to the work place, such as team leadership, problem solving and communication skills. International volunteering builds students intercultural understanding and sensitivity which are invaluable in today’s worldwide jobs market.’
If any Leeds College of Art students would like to find out more they can go to an informal information session Tuesday 16 October at 6pm in the Boardroom, First Floor, Blenheim Walk.
