Over the last 2 years with the generous support of so many of you, we have managed to build the very first school laboratory in the township. This amazing school works with a high proportion of students from the squatter settlement on its door step and students arrive there day after day swelling the numbers to over 1000 and classes routinely over 60.
This large lab has meant that students for the first time can complete practicals and work in a large airy space that encourages their curiosity and ambition. They may be short of many things but ambition is not one of them and most students have a real thirst for careers in Science and Technology. This will change their life-chances.
Although the laboratory is great, as a building it will accomplish little without training the teachers & giving them the resources to complete the job. Kunskapsskolan have generously donated access to their online materials so teachers can use these instead of textbooks. But we need equipment and resources to complete the job.
We want to build boxed sets of practicals. If you are one of their teachers with such large classes coming to you hour after hour, and with no lab assistant, then getting a lab ready for practicals is almost impossible. Boxed sets supported by trained student interns will help.
Someone once told me if you want to raise money you have to do something about it yourself and preferably an activity that might 'kill' you. Something that will stimulate interest. Last time I walked across England and this summer I am planning to cycle the 240 miles from Vienna through Bratislava to Budapest. I am not a cyclist and my training for this has been patchy, but I will complete it!
Two of my co- sponsors are going to walk across the Sahara in October . It makes mine seem feeble in comparison, but I am 30 years older than them!
We will do this work in August and will be joined by 10 staff and students from Liverpool Life Sciences UTC plus friends. We'll make a real impact!