Students with their teachers Angus Dawson, far right, and Charlotte O’Bierne, third right, and Andy Rowlinson from Wilderness Expertise via CAAI
Wednesday 6th October 2010
By Martin Lea »
A GROUP of Portland students experienced an intense and exciting Asian adventure.
Twelve students from Royal Manor Arts College signed up for a three-week expedition in Cambodia.
In a first for the college organising a trip beyond Europe, the 16-year-olds got involved in building project at a school, toured the notorious Killing Fields, trekked through the rainforest and visited historic temples.
It was a dramatic change to life in Dorset as the group got used to life in a developing country.
They washed their clothes in a river, endured 44-degree heat one minute and monsoon rains the next, lived without electricity and very basic toilet facilities, and cooked meals on an open fire.
Leaders were nominated each day to co-ordinate activities and make decisions, skills that will no doubt help the students in their lives as they move on from the college.
The trip was 18 months in the planning and the students raised a lot of the money themselves towards the cost. This was done through bag-packing sessions at local supermarkets, sponsored events, quizzes and organising a music concert at the Conservative Club in Easton.
The Cambodia project was introduced to the students as they began year 10 and the dream was finally realised in the summer of 2010 once the students had finished their GCSEs and left school.
The students were accompanied by the college’s director of progress Angus Dawson and head of drama Charlotte O’Bierne, as well as a leader from trip organisers Wilderness Expertise.
Mr Dawson said: “We wanted to offer the students the opportunity to go on an international expedition that was orientated around self development and leadership skills.
“It was an enormous learning curve and I believe the project was a life-changing experience for them.
“Leaders were nominated each day who took charge. For example, when we got to the capital Phnom Penh they had to sort out transport and finances and avoiding getting ripped off. For a 16-year-old in a strange country 9,000 miles away from home that’s quite a challenge.”
He explained how the group was based in the rainforest near the Thai border, first of all working in Tatai village school renovating classrooms and building a volleyball court.
The court was fitted with a net used in a volleyball tournament on Weymouth Beach and the children were presented with shirts collected from the community on Portland as well as other sports equipment.
Mr Dawson said an unforgettable highlight of the trip was a visit to the Killing Fields, the name given to sites where large numbers of people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime during its rule of the country.
Mr Dawson said even though the group was ‘battle hardened’ by then having experienced so much in Cambodia he said it was a very emotional experience.
He said: “We visited a disturbing place known as the S21 interrogation centre where 17,000 people were killed.
“They had photographs of the victims on the wall and it was emotionally draining.
“For our kids to come across violations of human rights like that, it was just overwhelming. You could smell the terror.”
Mr Dawson said the Cambodia expedition has brought all sorts of new horizons to Royal Manor and was so successful another trip is planned in the future, possibly to South America.
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