St Anselm’s College

Developing World Immersion in Sierra Leone

They say you should value the journey as much as the destination when you travel. Well, that was certainly true of our recent visit to Sierra Leone!

This was our first Immersion since before Covid, so the experience was really about re-establishing our links with host communities in Freetown and Makeni. We travelled as a small group of just two staff and six students, but our preparation and formation meant that we were looking forward to sharing this unique opportunity.

First, though, we had to get there! Sierra Leone is not the easiest place to reach. Already our itinerary took us via London and Brussels but, when our flight to Freetown was cancelled, we found ourselves with two days to kill in the Belgian city! Luckily, we were able to attend Mass at the Cathedral on Good Friday, and the subsequent sightseeing only served to bring us closer as a group. Finally, after brief (!) stops in Lisbon and Banjul, we were in Freetown.

As ever, the welcome from the brothers, and from all the communities we visited, was overwhelming. Within two hours of landing, we were amongst old friends at St Ambrose Academy, before settling into our accommodation at Hamilton Spirituality Centre. Br John Holden and the team kept us rested, fed, and watered superbly. From this base we visited communities around the city including Susan’s Bay, Kroo Bay and Old Wharf, and spent an afternoon at Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary.

The main focus of our stay, though, was on Makeni. The city is a two-hour drive north of the capital and is home to both St Francis’ Secondary and St Joseph’s School for the Hearing Impaired. We spent valuable time with the students at both schools, staying in dorms in St Joseph’s. We were also only a short drive from Mabureh, so we visited the primary school there which had been established by Br Ger O’Connell many years ago!

There is no question that Immersion to Sierra Leone is a transformative experience for anyone brave enough to do it. The lads took to it incredibly impressively. They threw themselves into every interaction, learned sign language, got their hair braided and handed out an impressive beating in the customary football match! Watching them find their feet and discover new things about their own capabilities made us incredibly proud of them.

It was so important to us to spend quality time with the people on whose kindness we so much rely. We were made so welcome by Br John, Sr Amala, Br Paul, Br Leo, Br Abu and Br Pious as well as countless others. The staff at all the schools we visited were so generous with their time and it was a wrench to leave any of the places we spent time in.

Of course, we hope the testimonies of the lads back at school will inspire others to follow in their footsteps. They were straight into assemblies this Half Term to inform the rest of the school about their Immersion. We are already planning our next visit and can’t wait to get back to the new friends we’ve met.

Mr T Murray, Chaplain

In February, St Anselm’s College were delighted to welcome representatives from the charity ‘Solutions Not Sides’ to deliver an educational workshop as part of students’ Personal Development. 

Our Year 9 students, and those studying Government and Politics in Year 12 and 13, had the invaluable opportunity of taking part in the program which explores the Israel-Palestine conflict. The organisation came highly recommended, and their aim is to “tackle Antisemitism, Islamophobia and polarisation around the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the UK”. The non-partisan program has been formulated with the input of both Israelis and Palestinians, as well as senior members of Jewish and Muslim communities. It is designed to prepare students to make a positive, solutions-focused contribution to debates on Israel-Palestine and develop empathy, critical thinking, and conflict resolution skills. We had the privilege of hearing from speakers Barak and Hamzah, who shared some of their own personal stories and experiences, alongside the opportunity for students to ask questions and grow their understanding about this complex topic.

We received excellent feedback from our students, and our visitors expressed how impressive the conduct, welcome and insights of our students were. As ever, we will continue to encourage students to engage critically with any information they consume in the media, and as a Catholic community, we pray for peace, as the human toll of this conflict continues.