There will be a team of eight volunteers travelling to Uganda. The team is made up from a healthy mixture of new and returning volunteers all of who are keen to get started. We will be travelling to Gulu, Arua and Lira all in the North of Uganda carrying on the work that CWB did there earlier in the year.
 

John Morton (Project Leader)

My name is John Morton and I am the project leader for Uganda
 
I live in Faringdon, Oxfordshire, but am proud to be from Manchester, born in Old Trafford so a real ‘red’!
 
Jenny is my wife, a radiographer at the John Radcliffe in Oxford, and we have 2 children, Elli (a copywriter in London), and George (just heading to year #3 reading illustration in Cardiff)
 
I run a small marketing company based at my home office
 
I am ‘over 50’ but still very actively playing and coaching cricket at Buscot Park CC in Oxfordshire; otherwise on the cricket front I am a member of, and play occasionally for, The Forty Club and The Cricket Society
 

James Savory (Tutor)

I’m James, originally from Worcestershire, I have now lived in Cumbria for three and a half years, working as a development officer for Cumbria Cricket. This will be my second trip to Uganda with CWB having been on the autumn project in 2011.
 
I am really excited to be going on this years project as tutor, It was a great experience to work with the teachers last year, and I learned a lot from working alongside CWB’s legendary tutor Richard Davies about tutoring in general and engaging the Ugandan teachers and children. It is of course working with the children that I am looking forward to most, they are such fantastic athletes, are so keen to learn and using cricket to help them become more aware of the risk of HIV is really effective.
 
Avid CWB blog readers will know that last year one of my teammates on the trip was my fiancee Michelle, this year she will be going as my wife having got married in July. Our table plan at the wedding was Uganda themed and each table had a photo of places we had visited on last years project, I am very much looking forward to experiencing more of Uganda on this trip.

Michelle Savory

After being persuaded to go to Africa to coach cricket with CWB last year, rather than our planned holiday to Kefalonia, we both had the most amazing experience and couldn't wait to apply to go again in 2012! Having only a vague interest in Cricket due to my other half, James, being a full-time cricket coach and player, didn't seem to make any difference to the amount of involvement or coaching that was expected of me and I loved every minute! 
 
I was a Child Protection Social Worker (now work in Fostering) before heading out to Uganda and was used to seeing deprivation and "worst case senarios" involving children in this country. None of this really prepared me for what we experienced on the trip. It's very difficult to put into words how amazing the country of Uganda is, the people so welcoming and enthusiatic about cricket and the natural athletisism of the children just outstanding. I gained 2 weeks worth of cricket coaching experience whilst out there and am looking forward to turning this into 4 weeks! My name has also been put down to complete the Level 1 in Cricket Coaching in January 2013, I guess this is my fault for marrying a Cricket Coach! Going to Uganda this year will be doubling  up as our second Honeymoon, as James and I got married in July so we're looking forward to travelling as husband and wife! 

Nadeem

Hi, I am Nadeem.  Although when not being mistaken for George Clooney, I have been called Samit Patel!  Have been playing cricket since the age of 4, and having earlier this year turned 40, I  decided to make a checklist of things I hadn't done and hoped to do.  This project is one of them and it appealed to my sense of adventure and I look forward to all the new challenges and friendship I will no doubt make.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Natasha Bingley

Hi I'm Natasha a first time volunteer who will be leaving my boys, Dave (37), Joe (11), Keiton (5) and Mackenzie (1) to fend for themselves whilst I venture out to Uganda.

I work in a busy role as a HR, Finance and Office Manager for a Railway Engineering Company, based in Derby, who have kindly afforded me the time to go on what I hope to be a fantastic adventure.

Coming from a none sporting background and having engaged in cricket for the first time on the training weekend, it has been remarked that I'm not your typical CWB volunteer. Posed with the question why I would suggest that CWB's work, empowering the children of Africa with knowledge of HIV/AIDS, is what initially attracted me. However after the training weekend I can say that I have thoroughly enjoyed learning how to play cricket and fear that I may have been bitten by the bug…

I hope that I may inspire more 'none typical' volunteers and prove that anyone with the willpower, and a sense of humour, can be a successful CWB volunteer.

John Brown

 

My name is John Brown and I live in Stanton Harcourt, West Oxfordshire, the domain of our Prime Minister, David Cameron. I will be part of the coaching team in Uganda as well as instructing the locals in the basics of umpiring!  Poacher turned gamekeeper some may say.
 
Maggy is my wife and we have shared our homes with our combined family of six boys for 16 years. Most have flown the nest but a few linger. Two are cricketers, one of whom is on his way to New Zealand for a new life with his girlfriend and a place in a team in Auckland.
 
I am north of 60 and retired from a career in business development and marketing in the marketing services sector. I have been involved in club cricket as a player, coach and administrator for over 40 years and I am currently Chairman of Oxford and Bletchington Nondescripts. We field 4 teams in the Cherwell League as well as 4 junior sides in OCB competitions.I also manage the Under 15 age group and work with the other coaches in this age group.
 
Strangely, John Morton our project leader lives in the house I shared with my partner Maggy in Faringdon. How spooky is that? Although it may have sown the seeds for my trip to Uganda because I have a vague recollection of talking to someone at a Xmas Party in Faringdon who had been coaching in Africa. All a bit hazy though!
 
However,when I received an email in my inbox one day from CWB, I opened it and the rest, as they say, is history. A chance to make a difference doing something I love in a part of the World that has always fascinated me.
 

Lee Booth

Having been on the recent trip to Northern Uganda only a few months ago the opportunity to visit again and see all of the wonderful teachers that we previously worked with proved too much of a temptation. I am really looking forward to seeing the teachers this time hopefully in their schools working with their pupils. It will be a good learning curve to see how much of our intensive training course they have remembered. With the commitment and enthusiasm that we witnessed I am sure there will already be some talented children in all three of the Northern districts we will be visiting.
 
Sadly this time I am only there for one week as I will then move on to Rwanda to join the CWB project there.
 

 

Mat Danks

This story’s a little bit bizarre. Or boring. Depending on how you look at it.

I’m a Black Country bloke in my mid-30s who, as a consequence of never playing the fine sport of cricket at school, didn’t even pick up a cricket bat until 12 months ago.

Ok, I’ve been following England all over the world for some years but it seemed the opportunity of actually taking part had gone until various associates talked me into giving playing a try.

This spirit of adventure also got me into this whole shebang. Hannah, who runs the doors at Cricket Without Boundaries, knows me from various West Brom related talk on Twitter, one thing led to another and… well, he we are.

During the day, when I’m not watching cricket and obsessing about obscure Northern Soul records, I am a director of a public relations company, which is as vague as it sounds ranging from getting companies into newspapers, writing speeches and generally trying to keep communications in check for whomever wants us to do it.

I dare say this expertise will lead me to wading in with blogs, communication and stuff during the visit so stay tuned!