Students embark on African mission to build centre

STUDENTS and teachers at a Southside Gaelscoil are embarking on a unique opportunity to help build an agricultural centre for impoverished young Africans in conjunction with an Irish development charity.

Some 15 pupils and five teachers at Colaiste Cois Life in Lucan will travel to Mozambique during the Easter holidays next year to help the SERVE charity build the centre for local children.

SERVE works with partners in Africa, Asia and South America towards the strategic goal of reducing vulnerability and improving the security of people’s livelihoods. The charity also has a specific interest in increasing access to technical and vocational education training for young people.

The students and teachers at Colaiste Cois Life have already secured over

?¬9,000 of the

?¬10,000 they intend to raise for the charity.

Emma Hutton, one of the teachers at the school who will take part in the project, explained that the students will get hands on experience of building the agricultural centre and will also be involved in other educational activities.

“We will be working on an agricultural centre for early school leavers and other kids who didn’t have an education to begin with,

? she said.

“We will be getting up at five in the morning, whenever the sun comes up, and go building for the day. It won’t be all work though and there will be cultural activities for our students. The teachers might take part in teaching a class over there as well.

?

In addition, Emma said the group will also visit the living quarters, based in shanty towns, of men working in the platinum mines near Johannesburg in South Africa.

“Around the area of the platinum mines there are lots of shanty towns set up for all the men that come to work there. We will go to one of the areas the workers are living in. The men pay women to cook and clean for them when they are there.

?

Emma believes the trip will provide students with an invaluable insight into development aid.

“Development education is something that really doesn’t exist in Irish schools at the moment and I think this trip might promote that and it could eventually be made into a module,

? she added.

“It will definitely be something that will stay with the students and they will be better people for it for sure.

?

To help raise awareness of SERVE and to gather funding for the project, the students participated in a special relay marathon in Griffeen Valley Park on Wednesday, October 24.

Over 400 students in the school took part in the event and each class, comprising approximately 25 students on average, ran a full marathon of over 26 miles between them.

Deputy Derek Keating who was invited to the event said:

“This was a huge challenge for the students and teachers in Coláiste Cois Life who are supporting the SERVE Project.

?

Anyone who would like to make a donation to the students’ and teachers’ efforts to raise

?¬10,000 for SERVE can email [email protected]