Hello everyone,

 

We have now returned from our trip to Mozambique and we thought we would tell you a little about the visit and how all the Oundle pupils got on there. We had an amazing time and the whole experience was so rewarding.

 

We stayed in a little beachside hostel called ‘Pomene Lodge’ for nine nights and it was from there that we visited all the places that the money we raised together has affected.

 

We first went to the sewing collective that we have helped to established there. There are currently around twenty women working in the cooperative, although this number is growing all the time, and there is also a man to teach them how to sew (in Mozambique it is traditionally the men who do all the sewing!). At the moment they are only making simple bags to sell in the Pomene gift shop, but as soon as the women are skilled enough to sew more intricately they are going to make clothing and various other items to sell at market.

 

Next we went to see the clinic which Oundle School had previously helped to establish and on the way there we walked over the bridge constructed with the funds we raised together this year. It was low tide when we visited and so the water under the four hundred metres  long bridge was not very deep, just muddy, but we were told that during high tide the water level is two metres higher, so the bridge really is a huge help to all the families who need access to the clinic.

 

Although we did not actually set up a fishing collective in the end (someone living out there had already started one nearby), the extra money went towards building a secondary school for the local children. There is also an existing primary school, which Oundle has previously founded, which has about fifty children currently studying there and we had the pleasure of taking them all out for a day. They were so friendly and a real joy to be with and, although they did not speak any English, we had a lot of fun and we hope we gave them a day to remember.

 

Thank you so much for your generous donations, it is hard to imagine just how far the money went, but it made such a huge difference to so many people’s lives out there. Thank you again,

 

 

KK, Jordan, rosa, Rachel and Charlotte xx