More than 120 schools across Ireland are actively involved with Self Help Africa's development education programme - hosting workshops, running events, and participating in a broad range of activities designed to raise awareness and improve understanding of the challenges facing people in Sub-Saharan Africa. If you would like to find out more about this programme, or about how you might become involved, contact us by clicking here .
African experience
Each year we travel to Africa with student and teacher representatives from schools with whom we work. The week long visit takes place during the Easter school holidays, and provides teenagers and their teachers with the chance to see and experience Africa, to interact with African students, and to develop a clearer insight and understanding. Contact us to find out how your school might become involved.
Links & partnerships
Self Help Africa works closely with other organisations engaged in bringing Development Education into classrooms across the country.
Teachers Annette Kavanagh-Bracken and Rachel McGrath from St. Wolstan's Community School in Kildare formally established links with Ligabo Hitosa High School, when they travelled to Ethiopia with Self Help Africa, last month.
The tie-up is part of Irish Aid's Worldwise programme, and will allow for the development of ongoing links between staff and pupils in both schools.
Teachers and pupils at Ligabo Hitosa School presented a newsletter detailing life in their school to the two Irish teachers, and St Wolstan’s are to produce a similar newsletter in the coming weeks to send out to Ethiopia. The Leixlip school's annual Fun Walk is to be used this year to support Ligabo Hitosa.
Ligabo Hitosa School was built by Self Help Africa, as part of its Huruta area based development programme. The school, which currently caters for more than 300 students, was officially opened two years ago.
News from our schools
Follow the link below to get up to date on the latest news about events and activities happening in Self Help Africa's partner schools.
Self Help Africa and Irish Aid team up each year to present the annual 'Science for Development Award' at the annual BT Young Scientists Exhibition. The award seeks to identify the Young Scientists project which could be applied to solve some of the problems faced by Africa's poor. To find out how to enter contact us here.
Interact on-line
Self Help Africa has started to develop online opportunities for our students to network socially with each other across the internet. If you can help, we'd love to hear from you.
Self Help Africa has a Facebook page. Check it out here
YouTube channel is on the way. Check out Sarah's, or Dervilla's video, from their trip to Ethiopia.
If you can help us with our myspace page, get in touch.
Africa Alive in the classroom
Bring Africa alive in the classroom - understand the issues, discover the rich and diverse cultures, and become a part of the solution to the challenges facing the world's second largest continent. 'Africa Alive' is Self Help Africa's innovative Development Education programme - offering teachers and students the change to engage in a very real way with the continent and its people.
'My Big Idea'
Above a short clip from 'My Big Idea', a TV document that followed Irish student Tara McGrath, in Ethiopia last Easter. Tara was a winner at the BT Young Scientists Exhibition - and travelled to field test her winning fuel efficient stove. Her trip was sponsored by Irish Aid.
Patsy Toland is our development education co-ordinator. A former school principal, he has been with Self Help for more than six years. Patsy is available for workshops and to give school presentations in Leinster, Connaught and Ulster.
Miriam O'Connell is our development education programme officer in Munster. After teaching for the past number of years, she joined Self Help's team in Summer 2008. Miriam is based in Clonmel, and is available for workshops and school presentations in Munster.
Classroom resources
Self Help Africa has a wide variety of resources, including textbooks and worksheets available, in English and Irish language versions. The documentation below was produced by Self Help Development International, the pre-integration name of the Irish NGO partner in Self Help Africa. Our contact details have since changed.
