SHE may be a child of the water and the wife of an Olympic gold medal-winning sailor from Lake Macquarie, but so much of Emma Outteridge's heart is embedded in land-locked Uganda.
As a "wide-eyed 25 year-old", the New Zealander went to the east African country with "big dreams of saving the world". But it was her world that was changed.
Having grown up around the America's Cup regattas and working for luxury label Louis Vuitton in its international sailing programs, Emma Blackman sought something more in 2009, volunteering at KAASO, a school for orphans in Uganda.
"It would be the start of a lifelong journey," she has written in her just published memoir, Between Two Worlds.
That journey has seen her build a bridge between the sailing world and the school. Through her friends and connections in sailing, Emma Outteridge has raised about $500,000 for the school and its programs, and 73 students have been sponsored so they can pursue their education.
"She doesn't do things by halves," said husband Nathan Outteridge, who met his future wife in 2012 at an America's Cup event in Newport, Rhode Island.
Around Wangi Wangi, where Nathan Outteridge grew up, family and friends from the local sailing community sponsor students and raise money for KAASO.
"There are lots of connections from the lake," Emma Outteridge said.
The couple and their two young sons are briefly back in Wangi before heading to Europe for Nathan Outteridge to compete in the SailGP series for the Japanese team, and for Emma to seek more support for the Ugandan school.
Before they leave, the Outteridges are launching Between Two Worlds at Wangi RSL on Sunday at 3pm and the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club on Monday at 6pm.
The benefits and joy of flowing between two worlds is obvious to Emma Outteridge whenever she speaks with Henry, a Ugandan student she sponsored in 2009.
Henry has just graduated with a degree in laboratory science and is working at Uganda Virus Research Institute.
"He's working on a HIV vaccine and studying the effects of the COVID vaccine on human cells," said Emma Outteridge. "He's phenomenal. I feel like a proud parent. Henry is so much a part of our family."
