A Humans of the Tribe ‘Engagement Special’: Harry & Danielle

Harry and Danielle first met on our February 2023 Uganda Experience.

I can’t remember exactly who Danielle travelled with - she may have come solo, like many Tribe Experience guests do. Harry arrived with his mate Sean. They ran a football academy together back in the UK.

Harry was fairly quiet on that first trip. Danielle, on the other hand - strong Welsh accent, razor-sharp dry humour. Straight up. Honest. Unintentionally hilarious. The kind of person who doesn’t try to be funny - but absolutely is.

That February 2023 trip was incredible and, from what I remember, there were a few budding romances! A Tribe Experience has a way of doing that - stripping everything back, allowing people to be fully in the moment, which in turn makes people real and raw with each other.

Harry and Danielle’s story began somewhere between Jinja in the north, Queen Elizabeth National Park and the long road south. By the time we reached Tribe Basecamp - Overland Resort at Lake Bunyonyi - in the south-west of Uganda, something had shifted. Then there was the infamous Cottage 3 night! That's one for a different story ;)

Fast forward a year to February 2024 and Harry and Danielle returned to Uganda as a couple, for what was at that time, our biggest Tribe Experience to date.

And it was beautiful to watch. Harry and Danielle - now a solid team.

But their story with The Tribe had only just begun.

After that first trip in 2023, Harry and Sean had said to me:

“We need to bring our students here. This would change their lives.”

They worked with young footballers in the UK through their academy, alongside education provider Juniper Training. At first, it was just an idea - something spoken out loud in excitement.

But after February 2024, it became a mission.

In August 2024, the CEO of Juniper Training, Lesley Holland-Bradshaw, and her husband David flew out to Uganda to see it for themselves. I left the middle of peak Tribe Boats season in Ibiza for a few days to meet them.

They needed to feel it.

They did.

In June 2025, we took 18 football students from the UK to Uganda for the very first Tribe Student Experience - a carefully curated, community-based journey which saw the students from Hemel Town Academy take on a number of local teams throughout the country.

In one of those matches, the entire town came out in support - complete with a huge sound system, a local MC, and an atmosphere that would give most Premiership games some strong competition!

Harry made this happen - and it was extraordinary. Danielle joined us too, as support.

No alcohol. No distractions. Just 18 young men having their minds opened - day after day - by the beauty of Uganda, the warmth of our team, and the power of perspective. 

There was an electricity running through that trip. A proper buzz. The kind that’s hard to describe but impossible to ignore.

It was the magnitude of what we were doing and everything we had done, and been through, to get here. And the buzz just kept building. On our last night packed full of celebration in Uganda, the boys chose to do karaoke, belting out Oasis classics in recognition of what lay ahead for our team! 

Harry and Danielle were flying straight from Uganda to Cardiff to see Oasis at their first-ever reunion gig - the day after we landed. They were buzzing. The country was buzzing. Our karaoke night by the lake was buzzing!

Two weeks later, I’d be standing in Heaton Park in Manchester sharing one of the most incredible moments of our time, with another group of Tribe Experience guests, as we too sang our hearts out feeling that for a moment in time we really would Live Forever - alongside people we'd want to live forever with.

So on top of everything else, there we were in Uganda - bonding over the multiple experiences we’d now shared, the first-ever student experience that was drawing to an emotional close - and the Gallagher brothers!

That shared anticipation. That excitement about something bigger. Something iconic.

It added to the energy of the entire experience.

It was one of those moments in time where everything felt aligned. It was beautiful - and it was about to elevate to another level!

During our time at Lake Bunyonyi on the student experience, Harry pulled me to one side and said: “I’m going to propose to Danielle - and I want to bring her back here to do it.”

And that’s when this story turned into something else entirely.

What followed were months of secret planning between me, Harry, and our brilliant lead guide and long-time partner, Martin.

Martin created the perfect bespoke itinerary for Harry and Danielle - retracing the places they first travelled, first connected, first fell in love. Queen Elizabeth. The roads south. The energy of that original journey.

Then I had a thought.

What if - when they arrive at Bunyonyi, at the end of their trip - they’re not alone? What if the people who were there at the beginning came back to be part of the next chapter?

And so, quietly, we built a second, secret group. A small, intimate circle of previous Tribe Experience guests who committed their time, money, flights, and secrecy (the hardest part for some of them!) to be there.

Harry and Danielle would complete their private journey. Arrive at Lake Bunyonyi. And be met by the very people who watched their story begin. 

No one planned this part - but the day we would all arrive at Overland?

Valentine’s Day.

You couldn’t write it.

As I write this, I’m sitting at Ibiza airport about to fly back to the UK to join the secret group before we all head to Uganda to surprise a newly engaged Danielle.

Harry has been sending constant updates - photos, videos, nervous messages.

Tomorrow, he proposes at Queen Elizabeth National Park. The exact place they first became “Harry and Danielle.”

His mum, Sue, has been messaging me. She’s nervous. I’m nervous. I can only imagine how Harry feels.

What I know for certain is this:

Harry and Danielle’s story is so much more than just a love story. 

-It’s the reason 18 students got to experience their own life changing journey through Uganda in 2025, and so many more will in 2026 and beyond

-It’s the reason our student programme exists, we get to share an incredible new chapter with our family of tour guides and thousands has been raised for students at The One Love Project 

-It’s the reason The Tribe Experience is where it is today

We'll all spend a few days together at Lake Bunyonyi to celebrate the engagement of a couple who met on a Tribe Experience. Then..

-Harry and Danielle will return to the UK to start planning their big day

-The Secret Experience group of close friends - all of whom met on previous Tribe Experiences - will continue their own journey as they head to Kibale National Park for chimpanzee trekking

-Tribe Experience super-guest Ryan will join them before heading to Kampala to DJ alongside our good friend, kindred spirit, and a DJ who represents the very soul of The Tribe - Hola Jefe, part of Ugandan Sound collective Soul Tri3e (named long before we met!).

-And I will head north to Entebbe with The Tribe Experience crew to prepare for the arrival of the next cohort of 18 young students from the UK - ready to begin their own journey of a lifetime through the Pearl of Africa, in our first of two back-to-back Tribe Student Experiences in 2026.

Then - as if by magic, completely unplanned - our student experience will cross paths with our Secret Experience at the magnificent Murchison Falls, where original, multi-time Tribe guests will come together with first-time Tribe student guests to share our safari experience.

This is a Humans of the Tribe Engagement special.

A story that epitomises everything The Tribe Experience is about. A story about what happens when people come together for a moment in time and magic happens. A story that sits at the very heart of the values The Tribe is built upon.

This is my small way of saying 'thank you' to Harry - for everything he has made possible and for all the moments we have been lucky enough to share together, so far. As for Danielle, seeing her face - at every perfectly planned surprise moment - is something I will always treasure. 

I wish Harry and Danielle a lifetime full of magic and memories.

This was the first ever Tribe SECRET Experience and finally - the secret is out! Phew. 

Emily ✨