A GROUP of good-willed students have returned from the Kingdom of Swaziland after two weeks of charity work.

Thirty Buckswood Students are back in Sussex after the tenth anniversary trip of charitable work, sightseeing, representing the school at official functions and making a splash in the national Swaziland news.

One of the first appointments of the trip included afternoon at the EU Embassy residence with Nicholla Bellemo the EU ambassador, where students learnt about the work the EU are doing in the Kingdom financially supporting the free primary education programme.

School director Giles Sutton, who acts as an educational consultant to the country, discussed the importance of cultural awareness and global citizenship with the Ambassador.

During the trip Mr Sutton and Gilly Johnson, head of teacher development at Buckswood UK, ran training sessions for the Swazi Department of Education.

Ms Johnson said: “I am honoured to work with such dedicated, motivated and inspirational practitioners and can’t wait to see how these new ideas will work in the classroom next term.”

Mr Sutton said: “In Swaziland, education is a gift and pupils relish the opportunity to learn.

“There are very little resources, computers, smart boards, and if there is a desk and chairs the students are blessed, so the students take nothing for granted.”

Having visited Swaziland for ten years, Buckswood has built relationships with many organisations in the Kingdom including the Royal Children’s’ Charity where the princes and princesses undertake charity work to help the less fortunate.

As part of the charity’s work the group from Buckswood spent time at the Holy Ghost School with Prince Benkhosi who rolled up his sleeves and along with the Buckswood students to do repair work in the classrooms and surrounding village.

To help the children of Holy Ghost school and their families, Mr Sutton donated a working water system and electricity to run the pump, 250 fruit trees, 40 chairs, an electric music organ, clothes for all the pupils, farming equipment and 84 panes of glass for their classrooms.

Buckswood also stepped in and donated 50kg of maize to the children at the school who had not eaten for a week.

As well as helping local schools, the group also spent time at the Good Sheperd Hospital, where they provide invaluable nursing care to residents of the Lubombo region who have the greatest difficulty reaching the nearest clinics or health centres. The students spent time at the hospital donating medical supplies and equipment and meeting patients.

The group also donated football kits to the National Police Commissioner at the Police Headquarters and were presented by Prince Bandzile on behalf of the school. At the presentation Mr Sutton said: “Football can be linked very nicely into community service work and can therefore link the police in all they did, so that children who are taught in the police run ‘House of Smile’ project learn that a policeman is not an enemy – but a friend”.