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ON Georgia Leggett Runs Summer Camp in Brazil

27 September 2018

This summer, Georgia Leggett (ON 13-18) ran an Ultimate Frisbee camp for 80 underprivileged young people in rural Brazil.

This is the second year that Georgia has been involved in running the summer camp. After the success of the camp last year, Georgia and her co-leaders were invited back by the mayor of Sao Domingos Do Prata, the town where the project took place.

In order to make the camp a reality, Georgia and her American team members needed to raise $10,000 (£8,000). They utilised a number of different fundraising techniques to achieve this goal, including a pub quiz, musical performances and bake sales. At Norwich School specifically, a donation from the governors and a non-uniform day raised enough money to feed the 107 participants for the duration of the camp. Georgia juggled the fundraising commitments alongside revising for her A-Levels, preparing for medical school, attending university interviews and working part-time as a lifeguard. Overall, $13,000 (£10,000) was raised, an amazing achievement which enabled them to pay for food, discs, equipment and t-shirts for all the participants, as well as employing an Ultimate Frisbee Coach from Sao Paulo to join the camp.

    

After finishing her A-Levels at Norwich School this year, Georgia flew out to Brazil on the 11th July and met up with her team in Belo Horizonte before travelling onto the remote town of Sao Domingos Do Prata. 

The camp ran for two weeks, and Georgia and her team were able to spend a lot of time with the children. Camp days started at 7.30am and finished around 5pm, giving them plenty of time to get to know the campers, as well as the chance for Georgia to develop the Portuguese she had been learning and also teach some English. A big part of their mission was to ensure that the children would leave every session with a full stomach, as poverty and malnutrition are major issues facing many people in the town. To achieve this, the team bought food and paid for local cooks to prepare healthy breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

  

Ultimate Frisbee was played throughout the day, with an emphasis on fostering a spirit of honesty and fair play. On the final day, they hosted a tournament on full size pitches where everybody played. To close the camp, the leaders held a concluding ceremony with certificates and gifts for the children. They were also able to make a leaving donation of $7,000 (£5,500) and 50 discs for the foundation to use at training sessions. 

In addition to teaching Frisbee during the day, the group were also able to immerse themselves in the local culture at weekends. They visited the farm owned by the foundation, where the children learn horticultural and agricultural skills. They also got to see the ‘Urban Garden’ that had been built using the donation they had made last year. The garden gives the children a place to grow fruit and vegetables close to their homes.

  

Speaking about her experiences, Georgia says:

“I feel extremely proud to have been part of this project for 2 years running and hope we will run it again. I have learnt a great deal from the experience including language and communication skills, leadership, teamwork and dealing with unexpected situations. Again, the project has consolidated my previous feelings of how lucky I am to have such great opportunities where I can help others. The next step of my journey begins in September, when I will start studying Medicine at Imperial College London. I am very grateful to the students, teachers and governors at Norwich School for helping me to fundraise a huge contribution to our total, thank you so much for your support.”