Minor Setback

The university motto is "for the common good". That's what we are working towards with this project. Unfortunately, yesterday we received some disappointing news. Our application for support from the university Magnus Magnusson Fund was unsuccessful.

I'm trying to stay positive as I write this, but honestly I'm feeling pretty gutted. This news is disappointing for a couple of reasons. Obviously, securing that funding would have been immensely helpful for all of us. As I've said before, costs add up and it's a lot for a student to cover. However, we're all confident that the value of this project far outweighs the cost, so we're determined to do everything we can to make sure it can go ahead. We're working extra shifts, saving as much as we can, organising fundraising events, and relying on friends and family to invest in us. This funding would have got us considerably closer to our overall funding goal. But not getting it doesn't automatically prevent things from going ahead. We might just have to reconcile ourselves to sinking a bit further in to debt in the process...

I think what's bothering me more, is that we didn't manage to convince the judges with our application. It's the first application of this kind that any of us has put together, and we worked hard to convey what we want to achieve. But it wasn't enough. That's hard to accept, when we feel so committed to making sure that this whole endeavour is a success, both for ourselves and for the people we meet along the way.

By going to Malawi and working alongside nurses we hope to raise awareness of learning disabilities. By offering accessible information and training about HIV for people with disabilities, we hope to have a positive and long term impact on health and wellbeing. We recognise that our training as Learning Disability Nurses gives us a unique skill set. We want to use this, to support those who could benefit the most. To give something back. For the common good.

We're just going to have to work harder to make it happen.


For ways that you can help us, go to our Hubbub page.