The annual black-tie fundraising event was held on the 12th November 2022 at the Marriott Hotel, Portsmouth. 130 people attended the event and celebrated the outstanding work of the charity both in the Portsmouth (UK) and in Koutaya, Dubreka (Republic of Guinea).

Your contribution helped us to raise a total of £8,571.37 (and still counting!) which will go toward URBOND Child Education Programme which is working to improve access to primary education for children in areas where there are shortfalls.

URBOND’s Child Education Programme was established in Guinea in 2019. It is currently based in Koutaya, Dubréka (Republic of Guinea), just north of Conakry. It seeks to dramatically improve the opportunities for access to education at all levels, and to provide basic educational and learning resources to children in need. It also seeks to work with young people to encourage them to stay in school where possible, and not to risk their lives leaving the country illegally for Europe. It has supported a total of 2,940 primary age children since 2019 – among these pupils, girls attendance with partner school has risen hugely by 62.2%.

To help with the fundraising, we had some wonderful auction prizes donated by Paul Pogba, Richmond Motor Group, University of Portsmouth, Proestetica Beauty, EuroStar, Jaimes Harrington, the Marriott hotel and Alseny Camara.

It all wouldn’t have been possible without the support of people in the community and beyond and companies that have donated their time and services free of charge. Special thanks to the special sponsor Richmond Motor Group for their ongoing support. Thanks to Gagliani & Co., POOW Media, Perfect Pear, Portsmouth News and Poppy Haskell for their amazing contribution. Thanks to all those colleagues and guests of companies that have attended the events.