Big day tomorrow!

So, the big day is tomorrow! A 6am start from home near Brighton to travel to Heathrow airport to meet my lovely fellow WaterAid ambassadors. A straight through 8 hour flight to Kampala and our adventures in Uganda begin!

I'm feeling excited and am really looking forward to the trip but with a little bit of apprehension too. I'm sure it's going to be a brilliant experience but also tough at times. I'm expecting to feel inspired, uplifted and amazed but also sad, humbled and guilty too. Energised at some times and exhausted at others.

I've been reading about water and sanitation issues in Uganda. I'm amazed that almost two thirds of the population in Uganda (24 million people) lacks a safe place to go to the toilet. A quarter of people don't have access to safe water (9.2 million people). Over 12,000 children die every year from diarrhoea caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation in Uganda. It's hard to comprehend such huge figures.

WaterAid has been working in Uganda for 30 years focussing on the 9 districts where people are most in need. Last year WaterAid reached 65,000 people with safe water and 102,000 people with improved sanitation. To date WaterAid have helped 920,000 people access safe water, and improved sanitation and hygiene education in Uganda. This is so encouraging and I am really looking forward to meeting some of the people whose lives have been transformed by WaterAid's work. There is so much more great work for WaterAid and their supporters to do.

Time to go and finish my packing and get some sleep before the amazing but challenging week ahead!...