On Thursday 22nd February 14 Students and 2 staff members from Kuwait English School made their way to Cape Town, South Africa, to complete the Gold expedition and residential sections of the International Award.
Over the course of eleven days, the students did a trek as well as volunteer work in order to gain their Gold award.
Prior to the trip, the students completed various training sessions which also helped build fantastic team spirit amongst the group.
On arriving in Cape Town, the students were afforded time to settle in and prepare for the trek. They then spent 5 days in the Cederberg mountains where they underwent their training as well as qualifying hikes. They were supervised by the teachers along with local guides who kept a close eye on the students to ensure that they fulfill the requirements for the gold level.
This was quickly followed by their main walk, climbing the mountains in the Cederberg area on a 75 km journey over 4 days. An exhausted group of students successfully completed the challenging trek with smiles on their faces.
The second part of their journey was to complete the residential projects
- Primary school – creating a safer environment for the children by replacing the decking outside the classroom.
- Paarl Stimulation Centre for disabled children – spending time in the classroom with the children, joining in and teaching them various skills.
- Drakenstein Protective workshop for people with disabilities – providing personalised care packages for adults living with disabilities, joining in and teaching arts and crafts.
- Jumpstart Day Care Centre – creating learning spaces, beautifying the environment and painting and securing the playground equipment for the 1-5 year old children.
The residential components, set up by Sana as the project co-ordinator, went very well. Everyone involved with the 4 projects that the students worked at, only had compliments for the students’ commitment and behaviour.
Both accompanying members of staff, Mr Francois Stevens and Miss Ronelle Hendricks were very impressed by how the students stayed focused and managed to complete all the tasks they set for themselves. Miss Hendricks, International Award coordinator, said ‘We are very proud of all of them, as even though the work was physically demanding on some of the projects, they all chipped in to ensure the success of all their projects’.
Overall, the trip was an eye-opener for many of our students and made them realise, no matter how tough the expedition was, just how fortunate they are.
