We are delighted to announce that five of our IB Students have been accepted on the brand new 2011-12 Pathways of Hope Programme. The five students will attend seminars run by Pathways of Hope Coordinators, with the collective aim to learn a plethora of new skills and cultural knowledge, which they will use to develop business plans and community events that raise money and awareness for a nomadic and orphan school in Yushu, Qinghai and a group of female spinners in Hei Ma He, Qinghai.

This project not only hones new skills in order to organise charity events, collecting funds for this Tibetan community, but culminates in a charitable and service-oriented trip to Qinghai in July 2012, where students will get the opportunity to personally meet with that community and experience their lives, their cultures and witness their surroundings, services and amenities.

Parthang Elementary School was decimated by the earthquake that hit Yushu last year. Although the school buildings are still standing, the foundations have been so affected that the buildings are unusable.

The Headmaster of 19 years and his wife (one of the teachers) reside in one of the numerous tents that that now make up the school accommodation of both dorms and classrooms for the 90 pupils ranging from 7 to 18. These make up three classes of 30 which are split by literacy levels rather than age (the nomadic lifestyle of the people affects their children’s access to education and therefore their literacy levels).

Basics, like canteen facilities and the single latrine block for the whole site are wholly inadequate and considering the climate and weather of Yushu, the tents blaze in the summer heat and lose warmth during the harsh winters. However, it is not the facilities that cause the greatest problems, but the lack of food, money, and medical care available to the students.

It is hoped that our IB Students will get the chance to see another side of life and get the opportunity to make a difference.