This web page gives a brief overview of the Berkshire Scouts visits to Uganda and Malawi. The visits are part of the Project Africa international community programme.
The Malawi 2024 JustGiving page has been closed with the final total reaching £34,170 (including gift aid and offline donations) – thanks for all your support. A new Project Africa campaign page has been launched and the funding is to support: (1) local community projects between visits; (2) developing Scouting in our project areas; and to (3) help meet the costs for a small group of Malawi Scouts to attend WINGS 2026. The new campaign page can be seen at:
https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/projectafrica
Following the County’s hugely successful visit to Malawi in 2024, plans are underway for a return with smaller numbers to visit in June 2026. This expedition is purposefully different in scale and scope to the full visit in 2024. Participants will be Network age and some working to achieve the Scouts of the World Award (SOWA). Another purpose of the visit is to strengthen our support for Scouts Association Malawi. The next full Project Africa expedition to Malawi is likely to be in the summer of 2028.
In 2024 Project Africa moved to Malawi. A new partnership was established with Joshua in Malawi and the main project was building a new care/community centre in the village of Milo. An existing care/community centre in a nearby village was also refurbished. Some minor projects also took place at two local schools. A main feature of Malawi 2024 was working alongside Scouts Association Malawi to establish a new Scout Group in Milo.
In 2019 Berkshire Scouts worked at three rural primary schools (Buwala, Bituli and Bubugo) in partnership the Soft Power Education. Work across these three projects included building teacher houses and refurbishment of classrooms. The Scouts also completed refurbishment work at the Jinja District Scout Training Centre (Buwenda).
In 2015 Scouts worked at the Butagaya and Iwololo rural primary schools in the Jinja area of Uganda. This work was carried out in partnership with Soft Power Education. Work across the two projects included building a three classroom block, teacher houses, and refurbishment of existing classrooms.
The first visit to Uganda in 2011 was to support the Bukeka Children’s Centre (Mityana) and the Kavule School for the Deaf (Mbale). This project was in partnership with Building Brighter Futures. Work across the two projects included building a large new three classroom block (initially used for a chicken project), a kitchen, staff washroom, classroom refurbishment, and a water harvesting scheme.
Activities in Uganda & Malawi
It’s not all work and no play!
Getting to know the country and its culture is a key part of the international community programme.
Last night at the Buwenda Campsite . . .
Visit the Malawi 2024 web page to see the full story of the latest international community project.
Funding projects
Funding the projects is a combination of general fundraising (various activities), grants, donations, a proportion of the fee charged for the event, and an income from Scout sections taking part in the Project Africa Challenge Badge.
Building and refurbishment projects are costed and supported to guarantee completion. Some of the projects cannot be built in the time Berkshire Scouts are in country and so sufficient funds remain in the country to complete. The advantage of working with charities such as Soft Power Education (Uganda) and Joshua in Malawi is they supervise and support the projects with local builders from beginning to end.
Projects are also funded between the visits. These have included supporting teacher salaries, solar panels, additional building maintenance and supporting local Scouting.
More than £130,000 of funding has been achieved during the life of the project!