IN the latest report from the St Luke’s High press club, S2 pupils Eve McAleer and Katie Dunne uncovered the work of classmates in Malawi.

Below is their article:

Every year, through the Betty Cunningham Foundation, pupils from sixth year are given the opportunity to join others on a trip to Malawi in order to help out with the community.

This year, five sixth years from St Luke’s – Rachel, Aimee, Alannah, Alicja and Rachel – raised funds and enjoyed helping with the current work in Kaponda, Malawi, which faces the problem of extreme poverty.

The Betty Cunningham Foundation’s goal is to help improve Kaponda by providing sources of food, fresh water, healthcare and education. By putting themselves forward for this, these five girls have made a difference to dozens of lives.

We were fortunate enough to talk to the girls in an interview. They explained that their purpose there was to help teach the children and help improve the fields via ploughing or painting the classrooms.

Alicja also described how they were able to provide help through volunteering at the clinics where malaria tests were being run.

All of the girls were presented with the question of what drew them to this experience. They replied with a heartening answer – to make a difference to the lives of children.

The next thing we were curious about was the rumoured-to-be gruelling journey, which lasted 33 hours on the way there and 34 hours on the way back.

The girls described it as long, tiring but worth it. At first, they met with the other volunteers before taking a flight from Edinburgh to Paris, then to Nairobi, with a bus to the hotel.

The girls found their accommodation amazing, but they felt horrible coming back to the hotel after witnessing the poverty of the village. They agreed that it really made you grateful for the little things. As they weren’t allowed to drink the tap water, Alannah said that it really made her appreciate running water when she returned.

Overall, according to the sixth years, they had an incredible experience.

Their efforts and contributions were deeply appreciated and we hope they will inspire other pupils to do the same.