A HEREFORDSHIRE woman has taken more than 50 students to Uganda where they helped to improve the lives of communities.

Sue Gasston, from Over Ross, Ross-on-Wye, took two parties of 26 youngsters, many from the Bishop of Hereford’s Bluecoat School, on separate trips to the African country.

They spent time at the New Rock Foundation School near the country’s capital, Kampala, where on previous visits students had helped to rebuild the venue from a wood and tin structure to a two-storey brick building.

The latest visits saw the finishing touches put to the school, including the upgrading of desks and the purchase of more land so pupils have a larger playground.

“The trips were a real eye opener for the students,” says Sue.

“They see how people live without the things we take for granted back home.”

The groups also took a trip to the nearby Sesse Islands, where they helped re-build the home of a woman with AIDS and her six children.

Plans are already in place for another trip to the school next year where guttering work, re-painting and desk upgrades are to be carried out.

Anyone who wants to help fund the project can call Sue on 07809 679117.