York students return from life-changing trip to South Africa

The Year 10 students from Archbishop Holgate's CE Academy spent two weeks volunteering with churches and community projects in the Anglican Diocese of Cape Town.

This was the sixth visit the York school has made to South Africa, which means more than 60 pupils have taken part.

Projects this time included creating a new play area at an AIDS orphanage, teaching in a school, planting a vegetable garden and distributing over 250kg of donations from York.

Students described the experience as “life changing”, “eye-opening” and something which “changed the way they looked at life”.

School chaplain Richard Nihill, who led the trip, said pupils were greatly struck by the huge contrast between the poverty of the townships and the beautiful houses and shops in the city.

Pupil Issy Cambridge said: "The two weeks I spent in Cape Town were the best two weeks of my life."

Ellie Fothergill added: "I really enjoyed the experience - the community work, tourism aspects and meeting new people.

"Everyone there was so friendly and really added a special something to the trip. I loved every moment and can’t wait to go back at some point."

Ellie Townson said: "My strongest memory is that I loved the people of Cape Town.

"Everybody showed so much love towards us and treated us with such hospitality we couldn’t feel anything except welcome."

Stan Gaskell said: "It was an amazing experience - the most different and best thing I thing I have ever done."

Donations included more than 300 World Book Day books, over 40 pairs of football boots and three sets of team strips.

There were blankets and other knitted items donated by the Unravel craft group from St Paul’s Church, Holgate and handmade dresses created by the school's textiles students.

Completing the haul were 30 hand-knitted teddy bears and lots of second-hand clothes for babies and children.

The group spent a day creating a new play areas at the Fikelela Children’s Centre, an AIDS orphanage in Khayelitsha township.

This involved clearing and levelling a large area of scrub land, unloading and spreading compost, followed by laying rolls of turf.

Later they weeded the neglected vegetable garden and played with the children. A few days later a climbing frame was delivered for the play area.

At an overcrowded primary school in another township, the students spent a day acting as classroom assistants and in some cases deputised for missing teachers.

Another day saw them work with special needs students at a local secondary school and participate in a feeding programme in a particularly impoverished informal settlement.

The group planted a vegetable garden, did lots of weeding, repainted the entrance and interacted with the residents at St George’s Home for Girls.

At a large community centre and pre-school outside Cape Town, they cleared the entire site of several sacks of litter and helped create a new fenced play area.

Mr Nihill said: "This involved getting stuck into some quite heavy manual labour, which greatly impressed the staff at the centre.

There was also a chance to see sights such as Table Mountain and meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu at Cape Town Cathedral.

Mr Nihill, said: “It is a real blessing to be involved in this link with the Diocese of Cape Town.

"We always receive a warm welcome and wonderful hospitality when we visit.

"It is also amazing to see the emotional and spiritual journey our young people undertake; many of them do comeback transformed.

"In the past we have had students decide to study international politics and childcare following their visits."