The Global Citizenship Programme - Kirsty's Story
Jun 20, 2025 | Chloe Lovelass

Hi, I’m Kirsty, and I went on a trip to Uganda with Edukid.
During my time in Uganda, I found the experience very eye-opening: life there is incredibly different to here in the UK. From what I saw in the week I spent there, one of the main problems is the lack of education – particularly for young girls similar in age to myself. The lack of education for girls leaves them vulnerable to exploitation and many are often married off young to help families financially, and who are very often forced to bear children as single mothers. I quickly learnt that education helps children to get a foothold early on, so they can take control of their own lives and help break the cycle of poverty!
One moment that really stuck with me was watching how people collected their water. Firstly, the water collected by some families was very unclean – it was clearly contaminated and contained various sedimentary pieces. Secondly, there are some sources that are actually quite dangerous to access, and at one particular source we visited you had to kneel on a makeshift bridge made of logs (very unstable) and lean down to collect the water. Also, some families had to walk up to 5km from their homes to the nearest water source!
After my trip, I had a very different perspective on life. I know people always say these sorts of things, but you really have to be there to see and understand it. I am not a particularly emotional person, but going on this trip made me realise how much we have at home, and how a small amount of money can help to support a child’s education. It is almost nothing to us, but everything to them! My experience motivated me, rather than upsetting me, as there is so much that we can do, and every little action makes a huge difference!
As a result of my experience and my motivation to help, I applied for a volunteering role with Edukid. My thoughts behind applying was if I could take the smaller tasks that take time, employees would have more time and money to put towards projects, and ultimately towards children’s education. I am hoping the few hours a week that I put towards Edukid will make a difference to them, and that maybe my story will encourage more people to volunteer. My hope is that Edukid will have the resources to expand and change many more lives than they already have”.
