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wenty seven people associated with Watford Grammar
School for Girls (sixteen students, two Old Grammarians,
an ex-member of staff, four existing staff, ex parents and
a current parent) spent a week in Rwanda. We had two
overall aims for this trip – to learn more about the genocide
and to help the work of the Rwandan Sisterhood.
The trip started with a visit to the Kigali Genocide Museum,
where we learnt about the Rwandan genocide - in 100
days one million people were killed. We visited a number
of memorial sites (churches), places where thousands were
murdered. We talked about what we have learnt about the
Holocaust, the common elements and the differences. We
also spent an afternoon listening to a detailed explanation
about the Rwandan Peace Education programme, "Every
story counts". This is an outstanding initiative and there is
clear evidence that it is achieving its goals.
We worked closely with Rwandan Sisterhood volunteers who
work in an extremely poor and deprived area of Kigali. We
taught 85 women to knit and crochet. We left all the donated
wool and needles with them to enable them to develop this
skill and to help towards self-sufficiency. We attended an
antenatal clinic run by volunteer nurses and midwives. The
antenatal clinic takes places in a large tent with a bare
cement floor. The women have their blood pressure taken in
the tent and then go behind a curtain and lie on the floor
on a mattress to be examined. When they are eight months
into their pregnancy they receive a 'Mama Pack' from the
Rwandan Sisterhood. Each Mama Pack contains everything
the mother may need at birth if she has to deliver her baby
alone. Each Mama Pack costs £20. We gave each lady one
of the blankets that we have been knitting. This blanket and
the Mama Pack are likely to be the first new and unused
item these women have ever had. The joy on the faces of
the women receiving the blankets was wonderful to see and
very humbling. We have now delivered 530 blankets to
mothers in Kigali.
With some of the money raised prior to our departure and
the money donated by those on the trip we bought more
wool and needles, 20 Mama Packs, dry food stuff that will
last for six months, washing powder, non-disposable nappies
and two food blenders. The latter are for two mothers
with seriously disabled babies. We have paid the rent
for one of the women for a year ($360) and for the other
for six months. We donated further funds to the midwife to
purchase medicines.
We have set up number of new initiatives to raise further
funds for Mama Packs. The support for the Rwandan
Sisterhood is on-going.
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In the autumn of 2015, a selection of Year 9, 10 and 11 students, including myself, were given the opportunity to travel
to Madrid on a trip run by the Languages Department. The trip was designed to enhance our use of Spanish as well as
expand our knowledge of Spanish culture.
We left a rather drizzly, miserable looking Heathrow on Thursday morning and arrived in the much more pleasant and
warm city of Madrid later on in the day. The city was bursting with colour and activity as hordes of tourists bustled around
its beautiful, cobbled streets. The street our hostel was situated on was lined with narrow, quaint-looking buildings
complete with baskets of vibrant flowers.
Each day began with a trip to the Inlingua Language School in order for us to improve our Spanish skills. Our tutor, Carlos,
split us into groups based on ability and we then completed various activities, sheets, scripts and roleplays. We also learnt
many useful tips and phrases to practise when out and about in the city. One of the highlights of the first day was our
trip to the Museo Nacional Centro De Arte Reina Sofia. Within this art museum there were many famous pieces including
Picasso's "Guernica" which depicts the Nazi bombing of Guernica and as a result, has come to be an anti-war symbol and
a poignant reminder of the tragedies of war.
During the second day, we also participated in an interesting tour of Las Ventas bull ring led by our tour guide ,who was
coincidentally also called Carlos. Many of us were shocked and saddened to hear about the cruelty of bull fighting and
the horrific injuries and deaths that both bulls and fighters have suffered from. However, we accepted that it is a deeply-
rooted tradition of Spanish culture and is a source of great entertainment for the thousands of people who fill the vast
ring each year. Later in the day we visited the Madrid Hard Rock Café which had a really fun and inviting atmosphere as
well as serving great tasting food.
On the final day we walked through a Spanish flea market which was crammed full of various stalls selling a large range
of items from jewellery to jackets, birds to boots and magnets to makeup. The choice was enormous. There was so much
going on wherever we looked; it was an explosion of different colours, scents, sights and textures.
Overall, the trip was a great insight into Spanish culture, history and language and I would recommend it to anyone
wanting to expand their knowledge on these things. Of course the trip would not have been possible without the efforts
and organisation of Señora Jackson and Señora White who made it extremely enjoyable and will hopefully be running a
similar trip soon.
Beth Read 10E
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STUDENT REPORT
RWANDA TRIP
SUMMARY
BY HELEN HYDE
