'An Unforgettable Experience' for pupils who visited Restart Africa

After a busy Lent Term, 20 pupils and 4 staff members embarked on the inaugural trip to Kenya. The trip, which was 18 months in the planning, gave our students the opportunity to visit Restart Africa, our international charity partner.  

The trip started with a coach ride to Heathrow, with some 44 suitcases in tow, with pupils from the Restart Volunteering Club packing and organising over 25 suitcases full of stationery, clothes and shoes ready to donate on our arrival.  

We were met by biblical rain on our arrival in Nairobi, which didn’t dampen the spirits of the group as we made the short drive to our overnight stop over at Wildebeest Eco Camp. An early start followed the next day as the groups split up and travelled by road to their respective homes for the week; Group A travelled to Restart Africa, spending the week at Pembroke House School, a nearby prep school to Restart in Gilgil and Group B made the 6 hour trip to the Maasai Mara.  

Over the two weeks, the pupils learned a huge amount about the amazing work carried out at Restart and spent time getting to know the children who call Restart home, many of whom are from diverse backgrounds and have faced challenging starts in life. During the trip, our pupils would visit local schools - Gilgil Hills School and St Peter’s School - that Restart children attend thanks to donations made by generous donors and fundraising initiatives.  

We also visited Cresent Island in Naivasha, and our pupils were taken on a hike of the local area in Gilgil, which provided stunning views of Kenya’s landscape. At Restart, pupils also spent lots of time playing in the fields, playing ping pong, drawing and dancing. Massimo W (R, UVI) reports: 

“Visiting Restart was some of the best fun I’ve had in my life. As soon as I arrived the kids were so welcoming, smiley and immediately dragged us off to the field to play games. I was genuinely excited to be there, I was introduced to so many of the kids all with very individual personalities and was very impressed by their enthusiasm to welcome us to life at Restart.  

“I loved my time at Restart and found it very hard to leave as I grew so attached to some of the kids. I really respect all of them for overcoming their past and still seeing the best in the world. I hope to return someday as I have learnt a lot from the experience and will miss the kids so much.” 

Meanwhile in the Maasai Mara, on the other side of the trip, we had the privilege of staying at the Eco Camp at House in the Wild, found in the Enonkishu Conservancy. Pupils were taken out on 6 game drives throughout their visit, where they encountered the ‘big 5’ and over 60 other species of animal.  

In addition to the game drives, we visited a Maasai village, where we learned a little about the Maasai culture, a local school in Emarti, a nearby village and were treated to a visit to the Rhino sanctuary where we were fortunate enough to get close to 2 endangered Rhinos. Our pupils learned a lot about the valuable work that House in the Wild do in the community, finding out first-hand about initiatives to help women gain education, regenerating the land and aiding species population growth. 

The group were fantastic ambassadors to the school, with many of our pupils keen to get back out to Kenya to volunteer at both House in the Wild and Restart as soon as possible. 

My thanks goes to Jules Winkley and Anna Peak for their support in setting up the trip, Stuart Cowper, Colm Kealy & Bella Winkley for staffing the trip, Restart Africa and Mary Coulson OBE, Pembroke House School, House in the Wild, Yellow Wings and finally our outstanding students who made the trip a truly unforgettable experience. 

Adam Morris  

Trip Leader