Students and staff from Newcastle College are headed to South Africa later this year, where they will work with more than 1,000 children in schools and orphanages.
Organised and funded through the Turing Scheme, eleven HE learners from Sport and Business are set to fly out in July and spend 16 days volunteering at four schools and an orphanage in Kwa Zulu Natal. Working with children aged 2-13, they will lead sports and exercise sessions whilst also supporting with any other work that needs done, such as painting the orphanage.
Providing international opportunities to work and study around the world, the Turing Scheme gives students the chance to interact with new cultures, learn different languages, and form lifelong connections with people across the globe as part of their college programme. This will be the first time Newcastle College students have travelled outside of Europe as part of this scheme.
The link with South Africa came from Enrichment and Development Manager Brogan O’Connor, who has been working with an organisation called the Bambisanani Partnership for a few years now. She Explained: “The Bambisanani Partnership started when my old school St. Mary’s High School in Leeds linked with Mnyakanya High School, which serves one of KwaZulu-Natal’s most deprived rural communities.
“A fundamental aim of the partnership has been to create genuine ‘two-way’ learning between both countries, with a key focus on working together and learning together. The Bambisanani story is testimony of the power of sport to change lives.”
In preparation for the trip, the learners are taking part in monthly development sessions with the college’s local sports partners including Newcastle Eagles, Newcastle Falcons, the Newcastle United Foundation and England Netball, as well as tutors from other areas of the college including Business and Childcare.
Brogan, who is organising the trip and will be travelling with the students, explained: “The idea behind the development sessions is to get the students in the best place possible to go out and deliver age-appropriate, exciting sessions in South Africa.
“They'll be coaching in an environment that they've never seen before, with equipment that they might not have used before. So, if they get into a situation where they're not sure what to do, they can think back to these sessions and put some of the things they’ve learned into practice.”
Business Management student, Samuel Oumaouche commented: “Each time we do one of these sessions I get more and more excited about getting out there and applying what we’ve learned.”
Whilst the trip itself has been funded through the Turing Scheme, the students are hoping to raise a total of £5,000 so that they can purchase essential items, toiletries, sports and school equipment for the children they are working with. They are also collecting donations of clothing, toys and sports equipment that they plan to take with them in their hold luggage and have already made huge progress.
Sports student Keiran Richardson said: “I’m coaching one of the junior teams at Prudhoe Football club so I’ve been asking all the parents to donate anything they can, and I’ve got a whole cupboard full already.”
Brogan flew out to South Africa last month to visit the places the students will be volunteering. She said: “It was such an inspiring trip. Seeing the children we’ll be helping at the orphanage made it real. I’m more motivated than ever to raise funds for this project, and to ensure that the students are ready to give their all in July.”
Business Management student Josh Young added: “I’m really excited to experience a whole new culture that I know nothing about. I genuinely think it’s going to be a life changing experience. I don’t think any of us will come back the same person that we went away as.”
Campus donation points and fundraising events will be organised in the coming months and colleagues and learners will be encouraged to join in to support the cause.
If you have any fundraising ideas, please contact Brogan at brogan.oconnor@ncl-coll.ac.uk