Kenya 2024
On Saturday 16th March, nine pupils and five staff went on an adventure of a lifetime to Kenya, East Africa. The group went away for nine days in total. They stayed in a town called Nakuru, in Kenya. The aim of the adventure was for the pupils and staff to volunteer in a school and gain new experiences. The host school was called The Walk Centre Academy. This school is a very special, beautiful and happy place. It was built fifteen years ago, by charities, and in harmonisation with the company African Adventures. The Walk Centre provides education to over 350 pupils. The school is open nearly everyday of the year, and offers a safe haven to the children in the local community, who sadly live-in deprivation.
70% of Kenyan families are classed as chronically vulnerable. This is due to nutrition, water supply and preventable disease. The majority of the children in The Walk Centre live in a nearby area called the Hilton Dumpsite. The Headteacher of the school took Clare Mount pupils and staff on a special visit, to the homes of the children in the host school. The group were all very moved and saddened to observe the living conditions in this area. The group provided as many food parcels and donations as they could. The reason the Headteacher took the group to this area, is so that they could understand how important school is in this part of the world – as it provides a lifeline to the young people who attend.
The children at The Walk Centre Academy, have very few resources; their homes are made from plastic, cardboard and metal found on the dumpsite. A large number of people live in each home, in a very confined space. Food and clean water are hard to find, and the children and adults have very few belongings. The average life expectancy of a male, is 30-34 years old. People die every day from preventable illnesses. For the children in this community, school is everything. The children who attend The Walk Centre get two hot meals every day whilst in school, and there is clean water to drink. The children are given a uniform, and they receive a full-time education. Despite living in very challenging circumstances, the children are extremely happy to attend school.
On Monday morning, when the Clare Mount team arrived, they were greeted by the most beautiful and joyous songs. The host school sang a song called ‘Jambo Bwana’ which means ‘Hello, welcome.’ It was an emotional first day, and the pupils from both schools spent the day playing, having fun and really getting to know each other.
Over the following week, the Clare Mount team went to school, to volunteer at The Walk Centre. The pupils and staff worked in three teams; the building team, the teaching team and the sports team. The building team spent the week creating a new classroom floor. They worked incredibly hard smashing up the old floor, emptying trucks of soil, mixing concrete, levelling, relaying the concrete and finally painting the new floor. At the end of the week the team were incredibly proud of the safe, new classroom floor that they had created – which will last a long time.
The teaching team spent the week working directly with the Kenyan pupils in the classroom. They taught a variety of different subjects and had lots of fun teaching and learning. The highlight was singing songs together and reading stories. The sports team provided many fun games for all of the pupils in the school. They even hosted a ‘sports day’ which was so much fun for everyone involved. Pupils from both schools played football, athletics, ball games and botcha. The highlight was playing with a giant, rainbow parachute, which the younger pupils really enjoyed.
Mrs Mault, who led the expedition, was incredibly proud of every single pupil who volunteered in the school. The pupils demonstrated many key skills, including resilience, empathy, hard work, determination and understanding. The Clare Mount team worked extremely hard, in very hot weather, and gave it their all. The pupils never stopped, even when they found tasks challenging. This voluntary opportunity has not only enabled our pupils to develop new skills, it has also allowed the pupils to gain further work experience, and prepared them for adulthood. Mrs Mault’s highlight was watching Clare Mount pupils thrive, even throughout challenging circumstances.
Whilst in Kenya, the group also took the opportunity to visit many wonderful places, and experience the fabulous culture that Kenya has to offer. Pupils were lucky enough to experience a Safari Day, where they saw many amazing animals, including; lions, rhinos, giraffes, hippos, buffalos and zebras. Pupils went on a trek to a beautiful waterfall, and after a long hike they all dipped in the water to cool off! The group went to the Equator line, where they did some really cool Science experiments. Pupils were able to stand with one foot on either side of the Equator!
The team also went to the top of a volcano, where they saw some incredible views of the beautiful landscape. At the end of the week the group went to visit a giraffe sanctuary, where they got up, close and personal with these beautiful animals. Many brave pupils even fed the giraffes!
A highlight of the week was a visit to an elephant orphanage. The group were able to meet lots of elephants and learn about their stories. The pupils and staff were very grateful to be able to touch the elephants. Whilst on this visit, the team also met a beautiful baby Rhino called Raha. The pupils fell in love with Raha because she was such a cutie, so Mrs Mault adopted her, and now she is our school pet! School will receive updates on Raha’s progress and the money we provided will go towards her care at the orphanage.
It is safe to say that Clare Mount’s African Adventure was a trip of a lifetime! The memories and experiences will be treasured forever by those who attended. This adventure was made possible, because our whole school community contributed to many fundraising events. As a school community, we raised £38,140. We would like to say a very big THANK YOU to everybody who supported us.
A lot of this money was able to support our host school, to care for the Kenyan pupils and provide many resources that they needed. The group were also able to offer food for the community and contribute to some pupil’s essential health care. Along with financial support, our school community came together and demonstrated their kindness, in enormous measure. The staff took 19 spare suitcases, filled with school stationary, over 800 football kids, sportswear, children’s school shoes and a large amount of sports equipment, that they were able to donate to the school. This was donated largely by school staff, parents and carers, friends of Clare Mount school, and some exceptionally kind sponsors in our local community… Thank you all for being so kind. It was vastly appreciated by us, and by the Headteacher at the Walk Centre, who was very emotional to receive our donations.
African Adventures offers once-in-a-lifetime experiences for young people. The mission of the company is to change lives through volunteering. Their aim is to provide life-changing trips for young people… and they certainly did that on our school adventure! This company has been running for over 15 years, and has taken over 8000 pupils from the UK to different countries across Africa. However, Clare Mount Specialist Sports College are the first ever special needs school to have attended an ‘African Adventure’. This is something that our staff are exceptionally proud of. Once again, Clare Mount pupils have demonstrated there are no boundaries to what they can achieve…
“In special education, hard work, persistence and confidence prove a label is only a means of receiving the tools and resources needed to reach maximum success.”
Thank you to Mrs Webster and the Governing Body, for supporting this adventure.
Thank you to everyone who supported our fundraising events.
Thank you to the very kind sponsors in our local community.
Thank you to everyone who gave us donations.
Thank you to the staff who attended and worked incredibly hard.
Thank you to the parents and carers of the pupils who attended, for supporting us.
Thank you to all of the reps at African Adventures.
Thank you to the wonderful staff and children at The Walk Centre Academy, for having us.
Finally, a huge CONGRATULATIONS to every pupil who attended, I have never been prouder of a cohort of pupils. You amazed me every single day! You demonstrated so many wonderful skills and qualities – you are all delightful young people.
I am so proud of every single one of you – Well done!
I will remember and treasure this experience forever, – From Mrs Mault x
