Serian UK

Global Partnership Continues to Grow

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:34:38 +0000

Following on from last years successful volunteer visit another trip is planned for July 2012. Mr Lee the Headmaster of Ellesmere Port Catholic High will be spending a week at Noonkodin together with two teachers and four students.

They will also be joined by two staff from Our Lady’s Junior School who are now linked to the Eluwai Junior School and a teacher from St Mary’s Junior School who are linked to Orkeeswa Junior School.

Our Lady’s School has also managed to secure a British Council Reciprocal Grant that will allow a teacher from Eluwai to visit Ellesmere Port in September 2012.

There are indeed exciting times ahead.

Protected: Wow! What a busy summer……

Rebecca — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 06:24:02 +0000

Ellesmere Port Catholic High School Visit to Noonkodin School

Dave — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 09:47:08 +0000

In July 2011 two teachers and five students from Ellesmere Port Catholic High School in Cheshire volunteered at the Noonkodin School.Their mission was to work on the new lab room to decorate the walls with murals depicting scientific symbols.Moya O Kane an experienced science teacher was also to teach practical chemistry lessons to the Noonkodin students.This was completely new to the students but they soon got use to the lessons and appeared to enjoy the experiments.Teaching staff from the school observed the lessons and learned from the experience.

Meanwhile Kirsty Adkins an art teacher from the Catholic High worked with the students to paint murals on a frieze going around the top of the lab.The prep room was also tidied up and organised.By the time the group left, the lab room looked completely different, much brighter and appealing as a teaching environment.

Whilst at the school they were well looked after by Grosper Mollel and his staff.They came away with experiences and memories that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.It is expected that more volunteers will spend time at Noonkodin next year as the two schools continue to develop their Global Partnership that they call ‘Learning Together’.

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Skeleton Coast Trek

Rebecca — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 07:59:38 +0000

In May 2011, one of our trustees Emma, joined a team of ten explorers who completed the world’s first totally unsupported trek along Namibia’s Skeleton Coast. They hiked from Terrace Bay to the Angolan border — a journey of over 500km carrying over 30kg each.

All fresh water used on the expedition was collected from the icy Benguela current that runs along the coast and manually pumped through a desalination filter (three hours of pumping per day to produce enough water for the group).
En route they encountered enormous sea lion colonies, hyenas, jackals and intact whale skeletons.

The trek was led by Royal Geographical Societies, fellow and desert explorer, Sam McConnell and filmed for television.
Emma raised £600 for Serian UK through the trip.

Well done Emma!

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`Maasai Art’ Launched in Stroud

Rebecca — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:42:59 +0000

Earlier this in 2011, Serian UK trustee Gemma Burford gave a presentation at the launch of the new social enterprise ‘Maasai Art’ at the Star Anise Café in Stroud, Gloucestershire. An exhibition of pictures by two Maasai artists hung in the café for a period of three weeks. Among the guests at the launch party were the Mayor of Stroud, who was interested to hear about the charity’s work, and the Head of Sixth Form at Marling School (which has supported Serian UK since 2008).

Anyone who visited Noonkodin School in the academic year 2009-10 will remember Erfan Fadaei, our superstar volunteer who earned himself the nickname ‘Morani’ (Warrior) because of the enthusiasm with which he embraced Maasai culture. Now his older brother Iman has also shown his dedication to Noonkodin and Tanzania, by setting up The Positive Ideas Company which runs the Maasai Art site. The artists get a fair price, the customers get beautiful and authentic Maasai art work to hang on their walls, and Noonkodin gets an amazingly generous 25% of the profit (so that every picture sold means one child sponsored for a year). It can only be described as a win-win-win situation!

Maasai Art has its own Everyclick page at http://www.everyclick.com/maasai-art-charity, and its website can be found at www.maasai-art.com. Please tell all your art-loving friends…