Since I was a child I have had an ambition to visit Africa. The Disney version of ‘The Lion King’ was no doubt a root cause of this fascination and resulted in me painting a 3ft Timon on my wall and having large wall murals of sub-Saharan scenes with the typical large animals. One of the main reasons I chose to become a Civil Engineering is because I believe Engineers look to improve society and solve problems. Some of these problems are obvious – if a community cannot reach facilities on the other side of a river, then building a bridge will solve that problem and allow a community resilience to prosper. This is the underlying principle of the Charity ‘Bridges to Prosperity’ – to provide connections that will resolve root causes of poverty. The opportunity offered by Mott MacDonald to be part of a team to travel to Africa with Bridges to Prosperity has been on my radar for a while. Covid put a pause to travel so I had been patiently waiting to hear what the plans were for 2023. I was excited to see that there were plans for a 2023 team and I excitedly prepared and submitted my application. Through the various discussions and meetings, I agreed to be a part of team and take the role of Project Manager.

Having met the team, I can tell that we all have different strengths and skills to bring to the build. Everyone is excited to be in this team and I’m pleased to see all the effort for fundraising from everyone - from cake sales, paella sales to individual personal running or swimming challenges, right through to multi-team supported initiatives – such as the 77km walk in May.  I can tell that we will meet our target and will be able to create a successful lasting legacy for this community.


My own personal challenge has been to start running. I’m not a natural runner but I have been determined to complete the Couch 2 5k programme, complete a 5k event and then complete a 10k event - all before I travel to Rwanda. On Sunday I completed my first ever 5k event having completed the couch 2 5k programme the week before. This event was on Bournemouth beach and involved running on the sand and jumping the groynes. The time was never going to be record breaking, but the fact I completed it and the rain held off meant I had a great morning. I now have 4 weeks to prepare for the 10k event. Here’s hoping the weather stays dry and I can complete the event!

You can find out more for each of the fundraising challenges being completed by visiting B2P Team Nkegete | Twitter, Instagram, Facebook | Linktree.

 -Kat Draper