8th September 2015
Whilst others were relaxing during their summer break, five intrepid St Brendan’s students took a trip of a life time to the small Kenyan village of Alara.
Arriving at Nairobi airport, students Adam Skirkowski, Kieran Long, Megan Long, Dana Clench and Sophie Giltinan, along with Environmental Science teacher Jane George, took a trip through the Masai Mara Nature Game Reserve on their way to the village. Seeing elephants, lions, zebras and wildebeests, the students managed to get up close to the beautiful wildlife that Kenya is famous for.
Aside from being able to see the beautiful region, the group were able to make life-changing differences to the Alara Villagers. Visiting schools to hand over gifts and teaching local pupils, the five students were incredibly popular guests! Whilst there, they took on the challenging role of removing jiggers from children’s feet. With no access to shoes, jiggers are a common problem amongst the children of Alara. A jigger, or sand flea, burrows into the skin and feeds on blood – proving terribly painful and causing infections. After removing the fleas (many children suffered tens of fleas in each foot) and bandaging the feet, the St Brendan’s students provided the young children with shoes which they had greatfully collected from Primary School children whilst in the UK. In one day, the five students managed to help 30 children!
After a fantastic trip which inspired and challenged our students, they returned to England with wonderful stories to tell and memories that will last a lifetime. The students were a credit to St Brendan’s and should be proud to have had a hugely positive impact over 5,100 miles away from their homes in the UK.
