In September 2010, after a rigorous application and interview process the following Year 13 pupils were successful in gaining a place on the Belfast Saphara Team: Kirsten Beg, Kate Doake, Irma Hendry, Chris Jordan and Katherine Kinahan with Miss C Thomson (Teacher in Charge Sullivan). The aim of Saphara is to participate in a ‘journey with purpose’. Saphara is a registered charity which engages young people from all communities in Northern Ireland to work with impoverished children in India. We are part of the Belfast team of sixth form students and will be travelling to India in July 2011 with pupils from Methodist College and Aquinas Grammar. Team Training An important aspect of our year long commitment has been to team building and prepare for our trip to India. In November we had our induction meeting where we met our colleagues in the Belfast team from Methody and Acquinas. February’s team meeting outlined the challenges ahead and developed team morale. In March we attended a residential training weekend at Newcastle Youth Hostel where we explored cultural issues associated with our trip and considered the demands of teaching. By our final twilight meeting in May the theme of ‘The Environment’ had been selected as the focus of our teaching and we are embracing the challenges associated with creative lesson planning. Fundraising One of the most challenging aspects of this commitment has been raising funds to support the educational charity work we will be doing during our trip to India. The financial aspect of this trip involves £650 parental consultation to cover flights and insurance, £500 personal fundraising and £500 (per member) team fundraising. As this is a big financial commitment we have been keen to focus our efforts on some key events. Highlights We would like to thank Miss Martin for facilitating a non uniform collection on behalf of Saphara and to all those pupils who donated so generously. A big thank you to Sullivan Preparatory Department staff and pupils who donated an amazing £1000 – the result of collecting coppers and a toy sale. Their creativity and enthusiasm was a great motivation throughout our fundraising endeavours. In March, we undertook a challenge, not for the faint hearted, to Abseil down the Europa Hotel A great fundraiser which thanks to very generous support from Sullivan staff meant we couldn’t back out!! Finally to those of you who attended; coffee mornings, wine and cheese evening, Jamie at Home Party, Table Quiz or donated to our used clothing collection – THANK YOU! Our fundraising target was £5000 and we have managed to achieve £10,883.36. All your support has been greatly appreciated and will make a huge difference to the schools Saphara supports in India.
Click here to read Saphara Article by Lucy Pollock Click here to look at the Belfast Team July 2010 Click here to look at the Belfast Trip Schedule 2011 You can follow our progress while we are away in India (15-31 July 2011) by reading our ‘blog’ on the Saphara Website: www.saphara.org