BLOG POST: By Martina G, a member of the 2017 Project Africa Team.
The #BSNPA17 Team
At the start of the summer holiday the 2017 BSN Project Africa Team (BSNPA17) are travelling to Ndege primary school in Njoro, Kenya, to build school facilities and support the Breakfast Programme that provides 750 students with a morning meal each day, for a year. All of the money we raise as BSNPA17 goes towards this.
One of the main reasons I wanted to join Project Africa was not only because of the amazing opportunity of visiting Kenya and helping children that are less fortunate than us, but also the whole process leading up to the expedition.
Since joining, I have helped out at many events and have thoroughly enjoyed all of them, from playing with children at Junior School discos to serving tea at the Art Exhibition at the British Ambassador’s residence.
In less than a year, I have become more confident around people, due to the amount of communication and teamwork needed for these events to run smoothly. Although we are a much larger team this year, I have grown more comfortable and friendly around people that I would never have even spoken to a year ago, and this makes me happy because it shows how being in the Project Africa Team has changed me for the better.
Sometimes, we have been held back by problems at events, such as not having enough food or drink, technical issues or generally not being organised enough. However, as a team, we always look out for each other and we manage to pull through each time, so most of the difficulties are resolved.
All of the events are also very fun for us, not only are they a learning experience for the future, but a time to bond with other team members, teachers and the community around us. I’ve had a lot of people ask me whether it’s difficult going to events more or less every weekend (at busy times) and my answer is most definitely no. Yes, they are hard work and can be tiring, but mostly they are a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon and I know will make going to Africa a lot more worthwhile.
I am very excited to go to Kenya this summer, but am also very sad that this fundraising experience is slowly coming to an end.
Read more about the Project Africa Project on the BSN website and keep up with regular updates from our team on Twitter @BSNAfrica and also our Facebook page
#BSNPA17
