For the first time, St Aldhelm’s Academy has decided to offer students a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to Rwanda.
The Rwanda Journey is an 11 day emotional and challenging adventure to a country that was devastated by the genocide of 1994. It will take place after the GCSE examination period in June 2017 and will be open to all students in the current Year 10. We believe that it will prove to be an experience of a lifetime for all participants. Some of the activities undertaken are shown below:
- Teaching at a nursery and primary school
- Visiting genocide memorial sites
- Talking with survivors of the genocide who share their experiences
- Working at a streetchildren’s shelter that aims to re-integrate the vulnerable back into society
- Visiting educational, humanitarian and sustainable projects supported by Amakuru Trust
- Experiencing an all-day safari in Akagera National Park
The trip will be organised in conjunction with the Amakuru Trust (www.amakurutrust.org) and participating St Aldhelm’s students will raise funds for one of the many educational or sustainable project the Trust currently supports in Rwanda.
The Rwanda Journey is unlike a usual “school trip”. The experiences gained will not stop on arrival back in the UK. It is hoped that participants will lead workshops in school or other schools on issues facing developing countries and give presentations to community groups as the other teams have done. In short, they will use their experiences to become educators. The experience will also enhance students’ personal statements or CV’s.
Students currently in Year 10 and their parents are invited to a a presentation at the school on Monday, February 22 at 6pm to find out more about this exciting opportunity.
