Students make a difference on African adventure

Students from St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy in Glossop have described their ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ trip to Africa.

Nineteen students from Years 9 and 10 spent 13 days in Kenya, volunteering at a school, visiting giraffe and elephant sanctuaries, spending time with the Maasi tribe and going on safari. 

During their time at the Grace Kids Academy, for children aged three to seven, students taught lessons which they had planned themselves, ran craft activities and played with the pupils. They also helped to build a pipe system to divert floodwater from the classrooms. 

Nancy Kays, 15, said the experience made her think about how her and her friends learn and how pupils at the school in Africa learn. 

She said: “We ran lots of arts and crafts activities and I’d never done anything like that before. It also made me think that we shouldn’t take what we have for granted and if we get something then we should share it. I think the best bit was seeing all of the animals in the wild and helping the children to get a better life.” 

Harry Dean, 13, described the trip as “amazing”, saying: “Our trip started with a visit to an elephant sanctuary and then we spent three days in the school. We spent time with a local tribe and we saw where they lived. Their houses were very small with one window that had been carved out. They told us that they had to move every five years because their houses get eaten by termites. We also went on a safari and saw giraffes, elephants and lions. It was amazing.” 

Ellie Owen, 14, said she enjoyed volunteering at the school: “We felt wanted wherever we went. The children asked us questions about our lives. It’s a trip that I will never forget and if I could, I’d go back tomorrow.” 

Alex Hazelwood, 13, said the children at Grace Kids Academy were very happy: “I enjoyed the safari and seeing all of the animals. It was nice being with the kids and seeing how happy they were, no matter how bad the conditions were.” 

Pastoral manager Claire Aitken, who went on the trip, said there were plans to maintain links with the school and raise money for the pupils in the future. 

She said: “We would like to keep the connection and hold non-uniform days and donate the proceeds to the school. The money we could raise would pay for the school’s rent for six months.  

“We took donations that we had collected to the school and one day we gave out a pack of coloured pencils and it was like Christmas Day. The children there don’t have much to play with, they had a tyre and a bike inner tube, but they were so happy. 

“Our students were incredible and the difference they made was outstanding.”