I left my heart in Uganda

11/11/2023

Uganda here I come!🇺🇬

Jambo from Nairobi! I sit awaiting the final leg of my long journey which will transport me from my island Kiwi home back to my rural village home. I can’t wait to be back. It’s been a whirlwind th…

13/10/2022

Out of Africa and on my way home. So many amazing memories! xx

Greetings from Uganda! After three long years away, it was so good to be back. I arrived to a full welcoming committee at Entebbe airport led by Dominic, Rose and Henry along with a bunch of the Ki…

15/01/2022

It fills me with so much joy to see these bunk beds assembled in front of the new KATKiDS Main Hall at KAASO, ready for painting. Since we launched our bunk bed fundraiser, money for 125 beds has been donated- incredible! The beds are being built on site by the welding company of a KAASO parent - a mother with two children at the school. KAASO always tries to support their parents when they can and this will be a huge boost to this local business at a time when they need it more than ever. Thank you so much to all our amazing donors! To buy a bed for $75 NZD/$50 USD/£40, please go to the KAASO website - www.KAASO-Uganda.org.

16/12/2021

We’ve now raised enough to purchase 78 bunk beds between our Givealittle page and our Unity is Strength page so far! Thank you so much to all our amazing donors - 78 children in Uganda will be coming back to school next year to find new beds thanks to you! Only 162 to go…!! ❤️ 🛏 🙏🏼 Anyone wishing to donate, please go to the KAASO Uganda website - www.KAASO-Uganda.org or use the links below. Thank you so much! 🇺🇬🎄☀️

Givealittle NZ: https://givealittle.co.nz/.../kaaso-christmas-bunk-bed...
Unity Is Strenth UK: https://unityisstrength.org.uk/christmas-bunk-bed-fundraiser

09/12/2021

Buy a bed for Christmas! Help us to accommodate all the returning students at KAASO Uganda who are finally coming back to school in January after almost two years of school closures. Thanks in advance for your support!

For NZ-based donors: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/kaaso-christmas-bunk-bed-fundraiser
For UK or Europe-based donors: https://unityisstrength.org.uk/christmas-bunk-bed-fundraiser
Rest of world: either of the above!

With love and thanks,
Emma xx

Donate a bed this Christmas with our KAASO Christmas Bunk Bed fundraiser! Just $50 USD or $75 NZD buys a bed.

03/10/2021

Greetings from Tarifa, Fourteen years ago I came to this hidden gem in the south of Spain, a mecca for wind sports, a stumbling maze of whitewashed buildings, an endless stretch of white sand dotted with colourful beach umbrellas, a never-ending steam of ships making their way out the mouth of the Mediterranean and into the open expanse of the Atlantic Ocean....

Greetings from Tarifa, Fourteen years ago I came to this hidden gem in the south of Spain, a mecca for wind sports, a stumbling maze of whitewashed buildings, an endless stretch of white sand dotte…

01/10/2021

More than a little surreal to be sitting in southern Spain looking across the Mediterranean to Africa on my horizon working on KAASO project reports to email to our amazing donors and replying to beautiful emails from people who have read my book and want to help sponsor students and support the KAASO family through these incredibly hard times. I’m painfully aware of my privilege to be out in the world with my family during these strange times but just using any spare minute I have (and squeezing together all my energy after many sleepless nights up with my wee boys) to try and help my friends in Uganda.

19/06/2021

An update on our Covid Relief fundraiser - thank you so much to all our generous donors so far, your support means the world xx

Thank you so much to all of our generous donors. We are so grateful for your kind support, it means so much and is really helpful at this very difficult time. Unfortuantely, Uganda is once again …

19/06/2021

Very excited to be featured in
sharing my stories from and my new book, Between Two Worlds!

11/06/2021

So excited to be #2 on the NZ Non-Fiction bestseller chart!

Between Two Worlds is the #2 nonfiction bestseller this week! 🎉

Spanning a decade, Between Two Worlds chronicles Emma's remarkable journey from running Louis Vuitton's international sailing community programme to moving to St Paul KAASO, a primary school for orphans in Uganda and how she found a way to marry her two disparate worlds.

Poignant and compelling, Between Two Worlds is a story of transformation and hope against all odds that will stay with you long after the final page.

We spoke to Emma about her life in Uganda and writing Between Two Worlds - read it here: http://www.allenandunwin.co.nz/browse/news/783-between-two-worlds

11/06/2021

So sad to hear Covid cases in Uganda are rising, prompting a 42-day nationwide lockdown and school closures across the country. Thinking of our friends at KAASO Uganda. Please help support our Covid relief fund via the KAASO website - https://www.kaaso-uganda.org/donate

Every little bit makes a difference! ###

We are sad to announce that schools across Uganda are once again closed due to another Covid lockdown. From 7th June, Uganda will be in a nationwide lockdown for 42 days. It’s incredibly difficult for schools such as KAASO to continue paying their teachers when the schools are closed and no school fees are received and there is no government support for ‘private’ schools like KAASO. Please visit our website to learn how you can help support our Covid relief fund. Webale nyo, thank you!

https://www.kaaso-uganda.org/donate

11/05/2021

It’s not easy getting things done as a mama but tonight I managed a phenomenal two hour conversation with Rose in Uganda and I feel on top of the world. It was punctuated by multiple visits from two year old Jack to ask questions, show me his toys and ‘help’ me with my computer, and a feeding session with hungry four month old Charlie but we got there, the connection held out and we managed to catch up. Life is not easy in Uganda at the moment and KAASO is struggling with the effects of Covid but, in spite of it all, Rose’s beautiful voice singing down the line has left me motivated, inspired and smiling from ear to ear. There is much work to be done but for now I’ll just revel in the joy of being able to speak to my dear friend in the village.