Hola amigos! Welcome to our fundraising page and thank you for taking the time to visit.

Firstly, a bit of background...................

As many of you will know, Nicki Clarke and I have travelled to Uganda to undertake a year of volunteering. We are working with the Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) in Hoima, a small town in Western Uganda.

Our main role is to build the institutional capacity of the JPC and provide training in different areas, to include mediation, peace building, finance, child safeguarding and facilitation skills. The JPC are promoting human rights within vulnerable rural communities and within the 2 refugee settlements in the Hoima district. The settlements are home mainly to international refugees fleeing from war in the D.R.C and South Sudan, together with some from Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya and Sudan.

Most people live in abject poverty, are unaware of their basic human rights and often these rights are being abused by both state and non state actors. Furthermore, even within communities with knowledge of human rights, many people do not know where to turn when their rights are abused. Corruption within the state is endemic and a huge barrier to progress in a country rich in minerals and natural resources.

The JPC attempt to raise awareness of people's rights by various means: through a weekly radio phone in show; Justice and Peace clubs in local schools; community engagement events and training events. We have a range of other projects we are attempting to get off the ground to supplement our current work but, as is often the case with projects in Africa, a lack of finances prevents worthy initiatives from getting off the ground.

The JPC seek to launch a mediation service that will provide the access to justice that many local people simply cannot afford, helping to resolve conflicts over land, inheritance issues and family disputes. We also aim to broaden our engagement and impact within the refugee settlements and set up Justice and Peace Committees within the settlements of Kyangwali and Kiryandongo.

This is were you guys come in.

We are asking our friends and family to help us raise some money to inject into our project. Many people asked us before we left home how they could donate. Nicki had planned to post regular video updates on a Facebook page. However, without wifi this has not been possible. She does however have the video blogs and plans to post them once we have strong enough internet access.

All donations, however small, will be greatly appreciated and we can guarantee 100% of the funds will be spent on the ground here in Uganda. You can rest assured your money will be not only put to good use, but will also be reaching some of the most vulnerable and impoverished people on the planet.

Wabale Mono! (Thanks very much!)

Pete and Nicki