Pupils at St Alban’s Catholic Voluntary Academy in Derby have rallied to support their teacher who is about to embark on a trip of a lifetime to help transform a school in Africa.
Becky Tomlinson, Year 5 class teacher, is preparing to head out with Derby County Community Trust on their Rams in Kenya trip for two weeks.
Accompanying Becky on the trip will be her husband and the couple will be based in Nakuru, at Cherish School. They will be helping in the classroom, getting crops ready for harvest, tiling and building a new toilet block and possibly a new classroom.
Becky and her husband wanted to go on an adventure after he beat cancer a couple of years ago.
She said: “My husband was very poorly with cancer and one of the things he said at the time was that he wished he’d seen more of the world. I thought this trip would be a great opportunity as my husband has experience in building and I am a teacher. He’s in remission now and is doing a lot better.”
Becky and her husband attended a presentation about the trip and were hooked.
She said: “I think it’s going to be amazing and will really take me out of my comfort zone. It will be great to get involved and give something to people I’ve never met.”
Pupils, staff and families at St Alban’s have helped to raise £850 to buy a slide and school resources for the children at Cherish School by holding a Kenya Sale in the school hall. The children in Year 5 were selling bracelets, bookmarks, crocheted items, paintings, pictures, wooden and clay sculptures that they had made themselves. The event also offered the sale of toys, books and collection cards along with various games.
Becky said: “It’s been so lovely to see the children across the school, so enthusiastic to help and wanting to get involved. I will also be taking over shoelaces and 120 school jumpers that have been donated. It doesn’t matter if they have our school logo on them, the children over there just need jumpers. We have employed someone in Nakuru to build the slide that we’ve raised money for.
“I would definitely like to get involved in classroom activities. The school has about 107 pupils aged from three to 12. I would love to create links between the children at Cherish and our children here.
“Our pupils have been so compassionate. When we told them how much money we’d raised, it meant the world to them. They wanted to make a difference and they really have done that.”
Since 2012, African Adventures has facilitated the trip to Kenya, in conjunction with Derby County Community Trust, taking over 500 volunteers to transform partner schools.
