Project Namibia 2011 - football cakes

This year I did possibly the most amazing thing in my life ever. I went to Namibia with 40 volunteers and helped renovate a primary school that was in a really bad state. We spent ten days camping with no running water and worked every day on the school. I also raised over £4,500 which was split between the Bobby Moore Fund (a bowel cancer research charity) and the project costs. I'm massively grateful to everyone who supported me and helped with the fund raising.

So what has this got to do with baking? I did several small bake sales at work to raise money, and started in June 2011 when the World Cup was on, and due to the Bobby Moore Fund's link with football decided to make some football themed cakes.

So here is a selection of what I made... I wish I could say I'd made these footballers but I bought them! They are actually made of marshmallow and I found them in Poundland of all places!

I also made an 'England' cake using red roll-out icing and a little chocolate football

These were chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate football on top

You can never go wrong with chocolate brownies! My fail-safe recipe is from Nigella's "How to be a domestic goddess" which was one of my first cookery books - my friends at university clubbed together to get it in my second year.

I also had a stall at a local primary school fete.

And while we're on the subject of things I made....

... this is the school bathroom in Namibia. It was in a pretty terrible state, and I was lucky enough to be working on the girls' bathroom - the boys' was even worse.

I learned how to tile...

... and how to cut tiles to go around taps, which I was particularly proud of, as it wasn't something many people could get the hang of.

So like I said, under the heading of things I made.... along with Roger, Debbie, Claire and David, I give you the girls' bathroom in the Tubusis Primary School, Namibia!

It's actually pretty amazing to think that while we all made a massive difference to the school and to the children, something I did - little old me who had barely changed a lightbulb before - will have such a massive impact on the children's hygiene and therefore their health and I guess therefore their lives. Puts everything else in perspective really, doesn't it?!


June 2012 update: Laura from Laura Loves Cakes and Dolly Bakes are co-hosting a new baking challenge, Calendar Cakes,  with a topical or seasonal twist every month. For their inaugural challenge they've chosen... Euro 2012! The rules state that you can enter old posts as long as you update them with the Calendar Cakes logo and link back to the challenge. So that's just what I'm going to do - it's great timing too as it was exactly a year ago this month that I went out to Namibia to help renovate the school. It's nice - and quite humbling - to reflect for a while on what our group achieved, the difference we hopefully made, and the wonderful children and adults that we met.