A few weeks ago, Katia contacted us to share with us what she has been up to since graduating from Rockley College in 2020. Together with Alfie and Ro, they have been doing some amazing things and as a company, we have been following their progress. We are super proud of their achievements and we love the fact that they have kept in touch and have even come back to work - Ro worked a season for us at Buddens this year and it was great to see her engaging so enthusiastically with our schools and groups.
In their own words, here is their story......
Since graduating Rockley College in 2020, we have all been involved in a project in Arusha, Tanzania. With plans to expand, we now want to take the time to write about where it all began. This takes us back to Rockley College where we spent two years on the Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport (Outdoor Adventure). We would describe Rockley as a defining time in our lives - all three of us came from different schools and backgrounds, however once joining, it was clear we all had similar goals and passions. These mainly included sport and travel and it became quite clear that we were all going to keep in close contact after we had graduated from Rockley.
We were all heavily involved in the outdoors while at Rockley, taking advantage of all the opportunities that were available to us. This led to various instructor qualifications. We now hope to inspire future generations to consider Rockley as a sixth form option. To look back and see where it all started and where we all are now is just incredible. We are hugely thankful to all the Rockley teachers and instructors and know that we would not be where we are now without them.
We first came to Arusha, Tanzania in January 2021. After six months here, we were given the chance to work with an small existing preschool which eventually led us to opening our own NGO alongside a local and international team. Due to open in January 2023, this Organisation, named ‘UMOJA MAONO’ which translates to 'United Vision' has become our life work and we will be supporting it from both in and out of the country where possible. Further information about the Organisation is below!
Football Project
With Alfie’s passion, plus Katia and Ro’s enthusiasm, we regularly host football events at our local grounds where we bring many of the young people from the community together to play football. This is a project that benefits both their physical and mental health and allows us to spend time with them in a relaxed environment. During out time at Rockley, we learnt a lot about the huge benefits that sport offers and we have seen fantastic results in the work we are doing now. We aim to provide a support system where our Youth Group can come and ask for general advice but also where we can help and encourage them to gain work experience opportunities in areas of the school and also gain employment outside of the organization.
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Extra Classes
As well as teaching at our small school, we have also collaborated with various other charities and originations in the area which focuses on learning languages alongside their usual classes. This is one of our latest projects and we aim to continue supporting this amazing initiative.
School Bus Project
With their primary school over 7 kilometres away, families are unable to pay for transport costs. As a result, we have set up a school bus fundraiser allowing each student to continue their studies. The support has been incredible and although we still have some way to go, we believe that we will achieve our goal.
What’s Next?
We are incredibly excited for what the future holds and we are looking forward to the next chapter in our lives. Our collective aim continues to be about facilitating sustainable development in underdeveloped areas. We plan to move into rural areas surrounding Arusha where there are no schools or opportunities for young children. We cannot wait to share further detailed information about our future projects.