A Trip to Botswana
Just before the start of the Easter holidays, 13 intrepid Sixth Form explorers flew off to Maun, Botswana, to re-establish the School’s link with Matlapana primary school and to experience life in an African town.
Arriving at Audi Camp on Saturday following an almost 24 hour door-to-door journey, the group all went to find their permanent tents and spent the next 36 hours acclimatising and preparing for the week’s teaching ahead.
From Monday to Thursday, the girls walked the Kalahari sands to school with groups of children in tow to deliver five lessons a day including English, Geography, Science, Art, IT, Music and Sport. It is always a little touch and go, and as expected there was a power cut halfway into the first lesson. The girls taught the pupils the song ‘Down by the Riverside’ which linked well with the Roald Dahl text ‘The Hungry Crocodile’, sadly an apt story as annually there are crocodile incidents with children swimming in the nearby river.
The girls gained huge experience at the School and gained further insights visiting other charitable projects at the local animal sanctuary and the orphanage. It was good for the girls to choose first hand what specific projects they wanted to support, be that the new youth club, a new freezer for the orphanage or funding for an eco club at the School.
The final part of the trip was the safari on the Okavango Delta, which delivered all the expected sightings of zebra, giraffe, jackal, springbok, crocodiles, hippos etc, even (charging!) elephants and lions. All in all it was a fantastic trip with staff and girls having amazingly memorable experiences.
Tiffany, who went on the trip, said: “The opportunity to speak to locals was definitely a highlight, not only because of their diverse living habits but also because of the difference in perception on life.
“The best moment was surely star-gazing on top of the truck during the safari, looking into the sky filled with stars and the pretty Milky Way.
“Apart from that, the cultural exposure we had in Botswana was also unforgettable such as eating local food with our hands and also learning about ethical dilemmas about hunting.”
