Dear Parents and Carers,
Pupils to walk 5720 Miles for Africa
Many of you know already of our long-standing partnership with Edendale School in Pretoria. The school was set up to provide a good quality of education for black students in post-apartheid South Africa and now has both secondary and primary schools on its site, as well as an orphanage for children whose parents died as a result of Aids.
Since 1997 Comberton has been committed to making a contribution to the improvement of educational opportunities for students at Edendale. This summer, for the first time, one of the Aids orphans was among the 6 students from the school who spent 3 weeks at the college. Funds from the Africa walk made this exchange programme possible. Without this money, students from Edendale would not be able to come here to experience a very different way of life, broaden their horizons and perhaps raise their aspirations for the future.
We do not view the partnership with Edendale school as a one-way exchange. The students who visit the school are wonderful young people who bring their culture and their experiences to share with the whole school by leading assemblies, concerts, primary school visits and participating in many different lessons. Their visit here is enriching for the whole school community and many friendships are made during their time with us.
Five years ago, Comberton Village College gained a Sport and Language exchange partnership with Escola Secundaria Noroeste do 1, in Mozambique. The school is a mixed gender government school with over 6000 students which has very limited resources. It is very rare that students from the school travel within their own country let alone have the opportunity to visit another. For the past two years, we have been able to fund 2 students and a teacher to spend a week in Comberton. We know that this experience has been life-changing for the students and teacher involved and that the influence is being more widely felt now within the school itself. Monies raised this year will make it possible for students from South Africa and Mozambique to continue to visit us and for us to benefit from the opportunities that learning first-hand about another culture bring. There is no external funding to support these partnerships and we know of many schools who are unable to sustain international links like those we enjoy at Comberton.
Following the success of the Sponsored Walk in previous years , we are planning to repeat the event on Friday 23rd September. We will be following the same four-mile circular route around the local area.
As the School Council we feel it is important that the student body takes an active role in supporting these exchanges and it is hoped that by organising such a large whole school event that we can raise all the necessary funds for each school.
We are aiming to raise £5000 again this year. In order to achieve this goal we suggest that each family makes an overall donation of £5.00, although larger donations will be gratefully received. This donation entitles students to come to school in their own clothes on that Friday and to take part in the walk. Our preferred method of payment is to the CVC Trust Fund, a registered charity, via this JustGiving page where you can also leave a message of encouragement to the walkers.
Alternatively you can send JustGiving your donation via phone by texting message “NVNX69 £5” or “NVNX69 £10” (without the quote marks) to number 70070 (this method only accepts a fixed donation of either £5.00 or £10.00). Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Once you donate, JustGiving transfers your money directly to the CVC Trust Fund account and makes sure Gift Aid is added to every donation made by a UK taxpayer.
You can also donate by cheque (payable to ‘Comberton Village College’) or by cash which will be collected in morning registration periods on the day of the walk. Postal donations should be addressed to the Finance Office, Comberton Village College, West Street, Comberton, Cambridge CB23 7DU, marking the envelope “Walk for Africa 2011”.
Yours sincerely,
Laura (Head Prefect)
Peter (Head Prefect)
Rebecca Lewis (Personal Development Co-ordinator)
Rachel Hawkes (Director of Languages and International Development)
