Trip to Botswana

Let’s remind ourselves about how fortunate many of us are and how much an education can mean to children. Many of our Guardianship students will carry amazing memories with them for the rest of their lives. Especially students like Carrie, one of our sixth formers, who volunteered for a school trip to Botswana.

Carrie’s experience:

“The reason why I signed up for the trip was that I had never been to Botswana and I thought it would be such a good opportunity for me to connect with different people and to observe the incredible wildlife.

We went and taught in a primary school in Maun for four days. It wasn’t easy to teach in a school with children whose first language wasn’t English. There were a range of ages in our class from 9 to 13, and not everyone was up to speed. However we made a tutor group for the kids who needed extra help which helped them to get a better understanding of the class. It was a challenge, but seeing how education meant to all of the children and how enthusiastic they were, is a good reminder of how fortunate many of us are to have access to good education.

We later moved on to an orphanage, knowing the fact that in the total of 34 children in the whole school, 25 of them are HIV positive. This was something that was really hard to process, and moving. It’s hard to imagine how difficult it must be, and it made me reflect on my own life and how fortunate I have been. It was a pleasure to meet the children and to hopefully bring them even a small amount of joy and learning.

I have a great love and interest for animals, so one of the highlights of the trip was to visit the animal shelter. We saw adorable dogs and cats which really touched my heart. The most fun parts of the trip were definitely the two days of safari. Camping beside the hippos and elephants, driving  through the woods and experiencing nature was just as wonderful as it sounds.”