Reading Football Club found a new fan base in Uganda recently, thanks to a group of local school teachers who visited an orphanage in East Africa.

Colin Rouse, Headmaster of Saint Sebastian's C of E Primary School in Wokingham, and several of his teaching staff travelled to East Africa during the recent spring break to support teaching and learning in Mityana Orphanage School.

As well as providing much needed resources for the pupils, Saint Sebastian's teachers gave all the children t-shirts that the Royals had kindly donated to the Ugandan trip.

"Saint Sebastian's has strong links with Mityana," Mr Rouse explained.

"It was good to see first hand, how we can make a real difference in Uganda."

Our thanks go to Colin and his colleagues for all their good work and of course for helping to spread the Reading word!

And Mr Rouse wasn't the only Reading FC presence in Uganda!

One of our Community Trust coaches, Gary Webb, recently embarked on a two-week trip to an impoverished Ugandan village himself.

Delivering sixteen coaching sessions to groups of about 35 local children aged 5-18, Gary also took part in project work which helped spread the anti-AIDS and HIV message to the surrounding areas.

He also distributed RFC programmes, flags and some signed memorabilia to the appreciative youngsters.

"I visited many local people in the poorer areas which was a very humbling experience," Gary told the official matchday programme.

"One of the children made a 19-mile round trip by foot just to attend my training sessions every day.

"We used sticks instead of cones, and a machete was their makeshift lawnmower.

"The children don't start learning English until the age of 10, so communication was difficult sometimes, but that's where the universal language of football could help.

"The Premier League is huge out there - regardless of who is playing, the games were watched on a tiny TV by more than 300 people, all sat in complete silence, completely engrossed."