A university student is hoping the experience she gains from a trip to Uganda will take her one step closer to a career helping those in the third world.

Laura Heath, 22, will be travelling to the town of Entebbe for four weeks from mid-July to help build a playground at a school for three to 16-year-olds.

The endeavour is something she says she has always wanted to do. It also in keeping with her aspirations to work for a charity which helps third world countries following completion of her degree in geography and tourism at Canterbury Christ Church later this year.

Laura said: “I have a friend who has been on the same trip for the last two years. He knew I’ve always wanted to do something like it.

“He told me it was safe there and that he’d always had so much fun. He said I should go for it. It seemed like the perfect opportunity.”

The former Dover Grammar School for Girls pupil, who lives in Deal, paid her joining fee in October and has since raised almost £650 towards the trip.

In a bid to raise the £1,000 more she needs, she has organised a quiz night at Deal Welfare Club, in Cowdray Square, on Friday, March 10, at 7.30pm.

Entry will be £5 per head and teams of up to eight are welcome.

There will also be a raffle. Tickets cost £2 a strip or £5 for three. They are available to buy now from Laura, or on the night.

The trip, organised through her university and led by East African Playgrounds, will run for four weeks.

During the first week Laura says she expects to be digging up a field set out to become the playground.

The next week, the group of 16 will be collecting materials. They will be using whatever is close by.

The third week will see them lay the cement and build tyre structures such as play elephants, motorbikes and caves. During the fourth and final week, they will paint it.

The finished product will be unveiled to the children during an open day, full of singing, dancing and speeches.

East African Playgrounds was established in 2009 and has since developed more than 150 items of play equipment, impacting positively on the lives of more than 150,000 children.

As well as constructing a playground, Laura will be running learning activities for the children.

She is therefore also looking for learning materials, such as pencils, pads or books, which she could take out to them.

Sainsbury’s in Deal has already donated about 20 summer dresses to clothe some of the pupils.

Laura said: “I’m not sure what level of education the children will be at but I’m looking forward to helping them with their English.”

The group will be sleeping in the school with just a mat and a mosquito net.

They will be eating Ugandan cuisine such as posho, a thick porridge, for breakfast, beans and stews.To access water, they will have to travel to a local bore hole or tap. It will need to be purified using tablets before it is safe to drink.

“Showers and bathrooms do not exist,” said Laura.

“We will be washing with just a bucket of cold water.

“Although it’s going to be challenging, I think on the final day, when the children see what we’ve done, they’ll be so excited, and we’ll know it was worth it.”

Between her studies, Laura works as a chambermaid at The Treehouse Hotel at Port Lympne.

To book a table at Laura's quiz night or to donate materials, call Laura on 07496 785879 or email lauraheathh@hotmail.co.uk