A couple weeks ago GeekDad wrote about the Village Roleplaying Project. A thirteen-year-old was seeking £60 in crowdfunding to travel on his school holiday to teach kids in rural Uganda how to play the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Through the support of GeekDad readers (and many others), Patrick not only raised the funds to take himself and other game masters to fulfill his original objective, but he raised a total of £1,279. This is enough to buy a small generator to more reliably keep their computers charged, purchase a computer for the dedicated use of the roleplaying group, have a table made by a local contractor, buy chairs, and buy food, software, and numerous other things to support their project.
Patrick, the thirteen-year-old who raised the funds, created a second video to thank his supporters. “I wanted to make a special video thanking all of those who have pledged support for me and for their lovely comments. On seeing all the supporters I feel like roleplaying is the best game in the world.”
The leader of these projects is Ben Parkinson of Social Enterprise Africa, which aims to develop young social entrepreneurs in Africa. More information can be found on The Chrysalis Youth Empowerment Network – Uganda and The Butterfly Project.
They have other active projects as well. A second student, Kenneth, fourteen years old and also part of the Butterfly Project, is trying to raise just £60 to travel to the rural area of Koro to teach and share various boardgames such as Ticket To Ride and the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game.
