On Tuesday 7 July, a small group of pupils headed to Kenya for a life-changing expedition, organised by the College Expedition Society in association with charity GapAfrica, and accompanied by Headmaster Mr Gregg Davies, Mrs Alison Davies and Mr Darius Bluck, and leaders of the tour Marcel and Sally Wagner. The trip had a great significance for the charity, as it marks 25 years since its founding; 2015 sees the Silver Jubilee of GapAfrica. The trip is far more than just a holiday; put through the tough tasks of climbing 17,000ft up Mount Kenya, trekking and building classrooms in a local school, the expedition is equally gruelling and rewarding.
Year 13 pupil Anna Davies offers the following report on the time away:
‘We reached Nairobi after two very long flights, and were greeted by our guide for the month, Mark Savage, who owns ‘Savage Wilderness’, in Sagana, the area we called base camp for the next few weeks. Although it seemed basic at the time, it soon became clear that the beds, showers and proper flushing toilets housed at Savage Wilderness were luxuries which we would be without… During the time at the base camp we were given the opportunity to trial different outdoor activities; mountain biking, rock climbing, zip-lining and white water rafting to name a few! Only five very brave group members tried their hand at the bungee jump, whilst the rest of us stood watch.
The first few nights we slept at Sanctuary Farm; a ‘safari style’ campsite with wild animals, such as hippos, hyenas, wildebeest and giraffes, surrounding us at night. We were fortunate enough to participate in two further safaris during the month-long expedition, seeing animals in their natural habitat.
During the trip, the group climbed two mountains. The first mountain was the Aberdares, where we climbed to 3,500m. This was used as altitude training and to give us an idea of what Mount Kenya would be like, although the training left us unprepared for the difficulties ahead of us. Mount Kenya was by far the most challenging event of the trip – indeed, in most of our lives so far! To celebrate the 25th year of the expedition, it was decided that we would tackle a new route to the summit, that had never been tried before. We spent five days climbing, and enjoyed hot drinks and wonderful dinners cooked by our porters during the difficult, arduous route. However, despite being unable to summit Mount Kenya due to the difficulty in the route, spirits were high when we reached the coast and had a few days to relax.
We were also given the opportunity to visit local schools. We spent three days at Kikunduku School, building desks and shelves, helping out in classrooms and meeting wonderful children who were so keen to learn. Headmaster Mr Davies opened a new classroom and kitchen, lending his name to the facilities! The welcome from the children was unbelievable; they had come into school on a Sunday to greet us, two miles from their homes. We were treated to a Harambee; a community celebration of the group visiting the schools, where children perform traditional dance and songs.
We were also shown the Mango Project at another school, seeing how the mango trees and water systems had been set up. The schools in Kenya provided an extraordinarily eye-opening experience for the group.
Arriving back in England, we were all very excited to be home and see our loved ones, but exceptionally sad that we would not be spending more time with the group; the challenges and cultural experiences had formed an intense bond between us, and the whole group felt so grateful for the opportunity.’
