08 May Year 10 pupils bring clean drinking water to Ambalamanenjana, Madagascar
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It started with a conversation between Miss Guéret and Mrs Patterson at the end of November. One wanted a project that would bring together the 100 pupils in year 10 to make them understand that they can bring about change in society, the other was wondering how to raise the £1500 needed to build a borehole in a small village in Madagascar as part of the Global Dimension targets of the Eco School programme.
A week later, plans were being made, projects were starting to take place and everyone was on-board to make this project a reality. Ulidia’s Year 10 pupils would bring clean drinking water to Ambalamanenjana, a village in the south East of Madagascar. They would bring clean water to the pupils and the villagers at the same time. What a project! And what a responsibility…
Fast forward five months to April 2017 when Ulidia’s year 10 pupils handed over a cheque for £1500 to Gavin Lonergan from the Adsum Foundation. The Foundation will see that the borehole is built in good time. It will be ready for September. 
It was a team effort – and not a small one. Each form class organised something to raise the funds. The target was £300 per class. Bun sales and home bake sales were organised (for the pleasure of both students and teachers), there was a baby quiz, a wordsearch, 20p coins collected in Smarties tubs. One class’ pupils turned into competitive business men and women, with each group in charge of a different mini business. They made and sold beads key rings, auctioned drawings and paintings, sold a giant teddy bear and a huge jar full of sweets.
It was a team effort – and it did take some serious commitment. But what a reward!
Ulidia is so proud of our year 10 pupils for tackling such a serious problem elsewhere in the world and making such a difference in the lives of the people of a small village in Madagascar.
One hundred 13 year-olds have changed the lives of the people of Ambalamanenjana forever. It doesn’t matter that they don’t know them. It doesn’t matter that they’ve never been to Madagascar. They’ve done it. And they did it because they understand that clean and safe water is an essential that everyone everywhere should have, yet life is such that there are people who don’t even have water.
“Something needs done,” they said.
And something they did.
