A group of students from Bristol University is hoping to start up a school and community resource centre in a village in northern Uganda.

Last summer, a team went out for a month to Bweyale in Masindi district with the intention of teaching around 300 children and ended up with 10 times that number.

Medical student Lizzie Nyeko set up the Uganda Children Aid Project (UCAP) and organised a fashion show at the University, which raised £5,000.

A group of 16 students is hoping to find almost twice as much money so that they can continue the work that has already been achieved.

Miss Nyeko, who came to England from Uganda five years ago, hopes to return to Africa and work with Medecins Sans Frontieres after she has qualified as a doctor.

She is currently in the second year of her degree in pharmacology and embarked on the project in Uganda as part of her studies.

Miss Nyeko said: "I chose to write something about child soldiers in northern Uganda for my course and this came out of that."

She contacted MPs to discover what steps they either had taken, or were planning to take, to stop the abuse of children's rights in Uganda.

Miss Nyeko invited Bishop Mac Ochola from Uganda to Bristol to give a talk on his work, which led to a series of fund-raising events including the fashion show and the bishop donated a plot of land in Bweyale to build a school.

She said: "I am now trying to raise the funds to set up the school and get it up and running next summer.

"But to keep the project going we need to raise at least £9,000 for materials, which does not include the costs of getting us out there and accommodation.

"It would be really good if we could get hold of old computers and office equipment like fax machines, printers to help the people out there.

"What we are looking for is both financial and material support from the local business community in the Bristol area to help with this project."