We are Tash and Lucy, and we have just got back from volunteering with a local community organisation in Uganda. In order to carry out their vital work effectively, Travis and his charity (MACRO) desperately need their own sturdy transport. We aim to raise enough money to buy them a 4x4.

Under the enthusiastic leadership of director Travis, the charity, MACRO (Mukono AIDS Control and Recovery Organisation), provides vital help to those affected by the AIDS epidemic. They operate in villages not reached by government aid or by the efforts of larger charities, which makes them the only lifeline for many people who so desperately need it. Their objective is to provide the information, support and encouragement for people to learn how to help themselves.

Their crucial work requires the volunteer members to travel from village to village, along roads that barely deserve to be called roads. Lacking the capital to afford vehicles more appropriate to the roads, MACRO are consigned to hiring standard (often already battered) cars at high daily rates, meaning that getting from place to place is arduous and very expensive, draining funds that could be spent building more wells to provide fresh running water, improving local farming practices, or paying teachers wages. Small though it may sound to us, just owning a sturdy second-hand 4x4 Landrover would make a world of difference to MACRO and the Ugandans to whom they provide such vital help. So we aim to raise the funds for them to buy one.