Case Studies
Irish and Kenyan "Lifelinks"
St. Aloysius College, Carrigtwohill and Mutito Girls' Secondary School, Kitui
Background
St. Aloysius College and Mutito Girls’ Secondary School have been in contact since 1996 through Irish project coordinator, Mary O’Donovan Cowhey, who is an English and Religion teacher in Carrigtwohill.
Aim and Focus
As Mary explains, the current partnership project has really taken off in the past two years: “We wanted to move the project beyond its focus on direct funding and fundraising. We felt this was an out-dated model of development with little real impact on the lives of the students in St. Aloysius and I’m sure did little to educate the girls in Mutito Girls School…This project aims to enhance our students’ understanding of development issues, to increase understanding between staff and students in the two schools and to enable mutual learning to take place.”
Teacher Visits
Maintaining regular communication has proved to be a challenge in the project, particularly in its early stages, and was one of the key issues discussed by partner colleagues during the Irish teacher visit to Kitui in February 2009 (see the partnership agreement produced by the project teams from both schools). This visit, in the words of one of the participants, “breathed new life into the project” and made the partnership real for both schools, as well as providing the opportunity to collaboratively plan for the future.
Progress
What was originally envisaged as simply an immersion visit by St. Aloysius Students to Kitui has become a two-way partnership between the two schools. The partnership project has been named Lifelinks, during a process which included a poster and logo competition for students to represent the project and raise awareness about it in both school communities. The main project aims are to experience and respect cultural diversity; to deepen understanding of poverty and inequality; and to encourage action for a more just and equal world. The winning logo chosen to represent the Lifelinks project can be seen here
In planning the Irish student visit to Kitui in May 2009, an in-depth programme of selection and pre-departure training was planned in St. Aloysius College, where students undertook research on various aspects of Kenyan life and key issues such as health and gender equity (Read some of the Student Reports and Responses from the visit). Lifelinks would like to see more student visits in the future, including Kenyan students visiting Carrigtwohill, but are aware of the work and commitment required to make such visits successful.
Mary O’Donovan Cowhey feels that the direction the project has taken is very positive, and that focusing on mutual learning rather than on simply a “school tour to Africa” has been of huge benefit to both schools: “I feel that the project educates young people about development in a positive and proactive way. Rather than discussing Third World issues as disaster management it is great to see development issues on a broader scale being explored with students.”
Good Practice Elements
•Selection process for students undertaking visit as part of the project
•Shift from charity-based approach to joint learning approach
