Scottish Catholic Observer

A group of 37 pupils and eight staff from Glasgow’s Holyrood Secondary School this summer travelled to Malawi for what was the school’s ‘most ambitious’ project in the African country to date.

The Malawi 2012 visit was the fifth consecutive year of the Glasgow school’s programme, which this year saw staff and pupils from Holyrood involved in further school building and renovation projects.

Clare Wilson, a teacher at Holyrood, explained that this summer’s work focused on three main areas: Zingwangwa Primary School, Catholic Institute Primary School and Matinde Primary School.

“Matinde was a new venture for us,” Ms Wilson explained. “We first met the pupils and staff of Matinde in 2011 when we visited the school with Mary’s Meals as part of their backpack distributions programme. We were appalled by the terrible conditions in the school and the amount of pupils learning under the baking hot sun, as there were not enough classrooms. We were able, with the support of Langside Primary School and the band Simple Minds [former pupils of the school] in Glasgow, to build a three-classroom block.”

Holyrood had already established links with Zingwangwa school, and this work continued during the summer with the building of a further three-classroom block and the refurbishment of another block.

The Glasgow group also undertook what Ms Wilson described as an ‘enormous project’ at the Catholic Institute, painting three classroom blocks that they had built during last year’s visit and a further nine classrooms. They also found time during the visit to refurbish the institute’s infant block.

Katie Sheridan, a Holyrood pupil, commented that some of the team from Glasgow had the ‘amazing opportunity’ to help teach pupils with special needs.

“This was a fantastic experience that gave us a greater understanding of the hardships they endure everyday,” Katie said. “We grew extremely close to these outstanding individuals and taught them well-known songs that everyone enjoyed. It was upsetting to see how difficult everyday life is for them, yet they remain the happiest of people. A man well remembered by everyone is the pupils’ teacher John, who is by far the most inspirational and optimistic man we have ever met.”

Overwhelming opportunity

This year’s Holyrood visit also provided the opportunity for Terry Strain, who works with Glasgow charity Bridging the Gap, to witness, first-hand, the benefits that money he has been raising through a personal project has brought to special needs pupils at Zingwangwa.

“One pupil, Samson, had been unable to hear or speak since a bout of meningitis in infancy,” Ms Wilson said. “Samson’s father had explained that a simple hearing aid would transform Samson’s life. Terry raised the funds himself to pay for a hearing aid for Samson. A specialist fitted the hearing aid during our trip this year. It was overwhelming to see Samson hear for the first time and to listen to him copying his dad and speaking his first few words.”

During their visit, the Holyrood staff and pupils were greatly inspired by the work of the Lomolo Empowering Girls Group. The group meets regularly to encourage girls to make better choices for themselves and to give them additional focus. Members of the group produce craft items to sell and raise funds for their work in sending young girls to school.

The Glasgow group also met workers from Thyolo Papermakers, a group of young artisans who train others to produce craft items. They use the money they raise themselves to pay for their education and to provide housing for the elderly and support for HIV orphans in their communities.

Unforgettable experience

For Sarah Gillespie, Holyrood head girl for the year 2011/12, the Malawi trip was an ‘unforgettable experience, which will stay with me for the rest of my life.’

“I recall the words of Blessed Mother Teresa: ‘We can do no great things, only small things with great love,’” Sarah said.

Mark Malone, last year’s head boy at Holyrood, said that, although the project had been demanding, it had left him with ‘unforgettable experiences and memories.’

“It was both physically and emotionally draining, but to see the work that has been done by Holyrood and charities such as Mary’s Meals allowed me to see how what we do in Scotland for Malawi can make such a huge difference to the lives of the people there,” Mark said.

Fellow pupil Andrew Brown summed up the Malawi project as the ‘sharing of an experience with a group of fantastic people.’

“It is about creating a relationship between Holyrood and Malawi that cannot be faulted,” he said. “Seeing the joy on the children’s faces when you arrive is priceless, and that’s before you have done anything! Everybody was driven by the need to improve the situation for the sake of the children’s happiness. The Holyrood Malawi project isn’t about doing charity because it’s a good thing; the Malawi Project is about carrying out the right thing because you want those innocent children to have the best experience possible.”

— For further information on the Lomolo Empowering Girls Group or the Thyolo Papermakers, Clare Wilson can be contacted by email at:  [email protected]

— [email protected]