St. Wolstan's Teacher Visit October 2008
A Kildare school has started a unique partnership with a secondary school in one of the world’s poorest countries as part of the Irish Aid WorldWise scheme – and two teachers have just returned from a field trip to set the partnership in motion. Teachers Annette Kavanagh-Bracken and Rachel McGrath travelled to Ethiopia with WorldWise funding. They were accompanied with Irish humanitarian agency Self Help Africa to meet the staff and students of their partner school, Ligaba Hitosa High, a new second-level school that caters for over 320 pupils in the impoverished region of Huruta.
Ethiopia exists under the permanent shadow of possible famine. The school was built just two years ago by Self Help Africa, and received significant Irish support from the One51 Charitable Foundation, a charity established by the Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society (IAWS.)
The visit formally established the link between Ligaba Hitosa, Huruta and St Wolstan’s Community School, Celbridge. “This trans-global partnership is part of a WorldWise programme, initiated by Irish Aid (the government’s programme of overseas assistance), and we are delighted to be one of the schools taking part. It will mean developing links between staff and pupils in both schools, and the concept is that both schools can benefit from the partnership,” said Annette. "Traditionally, there has been a trend whereby schools in developed countries such as Ireland might fund-raise to help schools in developing countries, but now it is felt that children in both countries can learn so much from each other. It is a very exciting time for all the Transition Year students in our school, and we hope it will be a long-term partnership. Ligaba Hitosa School is trying to increase the number of females attending – the current breakdown is 60 per cent boys, 40 per cent girls.”
Among the materials donated to Ligaba Hitosa during the visit was a digital camera, and now there are plans to transport a computer and printer. “The facilities in Ligaba Hitosa are in no way comparable to what we have here in Ireland, but there is a great determination among the staff to improve their situation,” said Rachel. “They really are very enthusiastic. The school is just four years old. The teachers are very keen to bring the best education possible to the local pupils. We made a presentation about our own school, and also the lives of our students, and they were amazed. Perhaps the thing that most surprised staff and students was the size of our homes here in Ireland – they couldn’t believe that just one family would live in each house. In Ethiopia, houses are much smaller, and often home to a large, extended family.”
On the day of the visit, a number of teachers and pupils at Ligaba Hitosa High School produced a newsletter – the Ligaba Hitosa High Herald – detailing life in their school, and St Wolstan’s are to produce a similar newsletter in the coming weeks to send out to Ethiopia. Their annual Fun Walk will raise funds for Ligaba Hitosa.
Said Patsy Toland, who led the Self Help Africa field trip to Ethiopia: “It is wonderful that St Wolstan’s have taken their interest in development to this level. The benefits for both schools will be enormous. For the pupils of St Wolstan’s, it breathes a real sense of relevance into their fund-raising, and gives focus to their efforts. I am certain this partnership will last for quite a long time.”
by Liam Horan
