Old Wandsworthians Memorial Trust

News from Grant Holders

• Jack Clements • Louise Cook • Halina Watts • Aimee Woods • Olivia Liddiard • Frankie Snare

Dear Trustees

by Jack Clements

Your money last year went mainly on helping me to get through my 6 week compulsory work experience. With this I have worked on such TV shows as The Gadget Show on channel 5. This was based up in Birmingham, I found it very useful, and it taught me a lot. Working with gadgets and gizmos all day long is not the most tedious job! And with the Channel 5 show Fifth Gear, working on the desks, next to me there were also very nice cars and motorbikes to admire day to day.

After the strenuous weeks of working along side gadgets and cars, I then headed down to London and worked with The Discovery Channel. Here I was mainly researching into such things as the use of ammunition within the UK, and where the raw materials of paint come from, which was not the most exciting of things. Although alongside this we also had a crew on their way out to film a 'Storm Junkie' across the coast of America. Everyday I was tracking the tornadoes and seeing how dangerous it was going to be for our crew and directors who were on their way over there.

I also worked at a Music video company based in Soho. Here I worked with such artists as Annie Lennox and N-Dubz. Whilst here I was also involved in an Ikea promo advert which was filmed closed to home in Wimbledon.

All of these placements proved vital to my course and I received full A's from all of my reviews within each company. After doing this work experience, I now cannot wait to start work within the industry and start making films and TV programmes of my own. Travelling up to London and Birmingham instilled a lot of independence and also now I feel I am ready to start the worrying thought of full time work!

I hope you can support me in my 3rd and final year.

Dear Trustees 2

by Louise Cook

I am writing to say thank you for your grant. It was gratefully received and helped me to have a successful first year at Bournemouth University. I have very much enjoyed my first year at University, my experience has been unforgettable carrying out a number of different activities. I have passed my first year of my Sports Management degree and I learnt a number of different skills which are required in the sports industry.

Moving away from home for the first time was not easy but my transition from college to University life was made easier through playing the sport I love. Playing football brought familiarity into my life and gave me the opportunity to exploit my talent. I settled into the university team playing the position of centre back, we started the season off well, winning the majority of our matches. We played through some poor conditions through heavy rain and very muddy pitches but we were still able to produce good results home and away. Our excellent performance resulted in Bournemouth Ladies becoming league champions for the first time. The University were very pleased and our efforts were recognised at the end of year Sports Ball. The team were ecstatic with the result and have been promoted to the Western Conference, Women's 2A league, where we have high expectations for the coming season. I will be leading the team out onto the pitch as I was voted Captain by my fellow team members. I was honoured when I was given the captain arm band and I believe I have the skills and experience to lead in example and produce some excellent results.

I took part in a mixed touch rugby event, with a team made up of the university rugby players and ladies footballers. It was a charity event organised by sports students, which we managed to win and take home the cup. In April I went on sports tour with all the university sports teams, which I enjoyed the social aspect as well as the sporting side. We played a number of different universities which showed us the different levels and standards.

I also enjoyed the academic side of my course where I engaged in the sporting industry learning about the history and culture of sport, how companies operate and the marketing of sports events and products.This has helped me further my interest in the area and made me more confident that it is the area where I wish to pursue a career later on in life. As part of my course I am required to complete a 40 week work placement and I am currently in the process of searching for my placement which I carry out in my 3rd year of study. For my work placement I am very interested in going abroad to expand my experience and learn how other countries function in the sporting industry. I will hopefully pick up some new skills which I can bring back to the UK and put in place once I finish my degree.

The grant helped me financially last year and I would wish to apply for an application form for this current year.

Many Thanks

Don't Cry For Me Argentina

by Halina Watts

This is a message to all the old boys about my year abroad in Argentina which you helped to fund. On 31st July 2007 I flew 2000 miles to the Latino metropolis that is Buenos Aires. This was the commencement of my third year of Comparative American Studies at the University of Warwick, which involved going to somewhere in the Americas. On arrival, I was greeted by some frantic Argentines and a very cold winter morning. After understanding that Air France had lost my luggage I made my way to a man who was holding my name in his hand. He seemed slightly grumpy and was talking to me so fast, all in Spanish, so it was a bit bewildering. This was the start of my voyage into the enigmatic and vibrant world of Spanish America.

I spent my first month with a lovely family; Yoyi, a political adviser, her studious son Amaro and their fat cat Tomasa. I remember the first day I got there and my grasp of the Spanish language left much to be desired. All these words were being thrown at me and I felt like I had turned into a dithering drip as I spent much of my time nodding, grunting and generally trying to fill in the awkward silences. When Spanish classes began things started to improve and I became acquainted with the rest of the gang from my course that had also chosen the Argentine route. The official structure of the year goes like this - we were to have five months of Spanish classes at the University of Buenos Aires, then we could choose to enrol at the University for academic courses and the rest of the time we had the opportunity to travel. My chosen route went something like this: I stayed in Buenos Aires for 7 months, then travelled from the heights of La Paz, Bolivia to the swamps of the Amazon, to the house of Pablo Neruda in Chile, the wonderful spectacle that is Macchu Picchu and finally to the shores of Brazil and the hidden treasures in Central America.

This is a very condensed version of all that happened in what I believe was the most exhilarating and exciting year of my life. So here is a recount of some of the best bits: In my mind, Buenos Aires is synonymous with beef, tango and great nights out. The Portenos, as the people of Buenos Aires are commonly called, have an eye for some of the great joys in life. I enjoyed countless meals feasting on the best beef in the world, with a glass of delicious home made wine while watching a tango show - all done on a very tight budget. The tango is a song and dance filled with sadness and intense emotion. It is the soundtrack to the Argentine capital and a reflection on the city's history and politics which has endured a turbulent and often violent time. In essence, the passion of this art embodies the Porteno people and much of the time I spent there.

Rio de Janeiro was definitely a highlight. Thanks to one of our Brazilian friends we stayed right in the centre of the city, and enjoyed the annual carnival in all its glory. With Jesus, The Redemptor watching over the city, the beautiful beaches and jungle territory provided the perfect backdrop to the bustling cosmopolitan area at a magical time.

Macchu Picchu is a different thing all together. While Rio de Janeiro is a modern feast for the eyes, the Inca Trail is steeped in ancient tradition. Trekking for three days, we walked 25 miles and encountered some of the wonders of the world; sacred sites, breathtaking views and a brief insight into the history and culture of an empire that is no more.

Time spent in Buenos Aires was not all fun and games. Volunteering for a non- governmental organisation called LIFE became a central feature of my life in the city. The NGO provides educational and recreational programmes for children in various shantytowns on the outskirts of the city.

I spent a considerable amount of time in one called Ciudad Oculta which means 'Hidden City'. Here people live in shacks made out of corrugated iron, cardboard and plastic covers while others live in slightly more substantial dwellings made from an assortment of brick, wood and canvas. Drug addiction and illiteracy is high. Ultimately, Ciudad Oculta is a microcosm of the vast gap between rich and poor, and the intrinsic inequalities present in developing countries. This area and the people that reside there became of great affection to me and subsequently I decided to conduct an ethnographic study about it for my dissertation.

Living in Buenos Aires and travelling through Latin America, I have developed significantly as a person. I now view Buenos Aires as a second home and somewhere that I could see myself living once again. I have made life long friendships and memories that I hold very close to my heart. My experiences have given me the independence and courage to see through my dreams and now I am on the path to fullfilling them. This is what the Old Boys have contributed to and I thank you very much.

My Year in France

by Aimee Woods

I am now in my final year at Warwick University studying French and History. Last year I was required to spend a year in France either teaching, working or studying. I chose to teach English to primary school children in Nice.

I thoroughly enjoyed my year away and although the teaching was hard at times I found it very rewarding. I was placed in 3 schools, with 10 classes and over 250 children, so there were a lot of names to learn! The children were aged between seven and eleven and were always enthusiastic about their English classes as they loved hearing about our culture and way of life. I was normally left alone with the children, which at times proved tough, especially when they laughed whilst you were trying to tell them off in French and were making mistakes. However, it was hard to say goodbye to them, (well most of them!) and I have received lots of cards from them since the academic year has re-commenced which is lovely.

Through living in France for an extended period of time it has allowed me to experience the French way of life and their culture. I found that while I study French at university and am able to converse in French, there really is no substitution for living in a country and immersing oneself in the culture for improving not only language but a better understanding of the country.

I was extremely lucky to find an apartment only three minutes away from the beach near the 'Promenade des Anglais'. I was very fortunate with the weather and my friends and I had our last swim in November! We could start swimming again in April, so between November and April I had to find another activity! I did not realise before living in Nice that it is only an hour and a half away from the nearest ski resort so we spent many weekends trying to master skiing!

There were many different events in Nice during my year there. One of the most exciting was the infamous Carnival. The theme for the carnival was 'King of the Rats'. The carnival lasts for a month with different parades along the Promenade and around the old town. However, the final week and especially the final weekend of the carnival were spectacular. There was a flower parade in which about two hundred floats were completely covered in flowers, it was really amazing. There was then a more traditional parade in which different schools had contributed to the floats. The carnival lasts for a month with different parades along the Promenade and around the old town. However, the final week and especially the final weekend of the carnival were spectacular. There was a flower parade in which about two hundred floats were completely covered in flowers, it was really amazing.

There was then a more traditional parade in which different schools had contributed to the floats; unfortunately my schools were not involved. On the final night of the carnival, the King of the Carnival was taken into the sea and then set alight. This is a tradition which is meant to depict the King being returned to ashes to allow him to be resurrected the following year. There was then a fantastic fireworks display over the sea which was wonderful.

A Huge Ghanaian Thank-You, MEDA ASE!

by Olivia Liddiard

In early September 2007 I stood at Gatwick airport with my rucksack on my back, hand luggage on my front and tears in my eyes as I waved goodbye to my parents knowing I wasn't going to see them for the next six months, my Ghanaian adventure was about to begin and what a fantastic adventure it turned out to be!

It's incredibly difficult to put into words how grateful I am to the Old Wandsworthians Trustees for helping me have an unforgettable six months.

The children at the Kumasi's Roman Catholic Girls School were truly energetic, uplifting and exciting; there wasn't a day that went by that we didn't have a smile on our faces, despite the fact that they have a 9 hour day with only a 45 minute break split into two periods during the day, starting at 6.30 am and not finishing until 3.30pm.

Education is extremely important to them 'have sex with your book and give birth to success' was the extreme phrase that was planted around the school. My headmistress, Madam Augustina and the teachers at the school were very enthusiastic to make a change, which was great to see and hear. I visited some schools where the staff fell asleep on their desks, missed lessons to go and get their hair done and refused to mark books. School life was lot different than I thought it would be, it was hard to walk into a class room and teach with very little resources. The class rooms were bare; the children were drained from the heat so trying to make class fun and exciting was a challenge, but as a team we worked together. My favourite task was when we had class teams and games, the first team to read the passage and answer all the questions correctly won.

We did spelling competitions, drama, poetry, art and when we learnt new words we put actions to them to help them remember, like the meaning of 'trudge'. School life was where I felt happiest and leaving was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, I even went in the day I flew because I couldn't bear saying goodbye. I know I will return to the school and continue to help them whilst I am in the UK. One way I am planning to do this is to raise money for the children to help put them through Form 3; by paying for their end of year exams, I wil try my hardest with the support of family and friends to get them resources to help them revise, not just for the children but for the teachers as well to help them help the children in learning to retain the information they have learnt throughout the year for their exams. It only costs £26.31 to sponsor a child for a year, which would pay for everything they needed, the break down of the costs are as follows:

School levy = GH10.00

Mock exams = GH 6.00

End of term exams = GH1.50 per term (3 terms = GH4.50)

Picture for registration = GH2.00

Class fees = GH6.00 per term (3 terms= GH18.00)

Final end of year main exams = GH9.50

Total = GH50.00 (£26.31 with the exchange rate of 1.9.)

If anyone would be happy to help or would like any more information on the matter, then please contact me via the trustees (editor@old-wandsworthians-trust.com).

It was very strange to be called 'Madam Olivia' just after leaving school myself or ‘Yaa Asantewaa' as the teachers loved to call me. They said I was now a Ghanaian so I deserved a Ghanaian name, unfortunately though the name represents the great warrior woman who led the men to war against the British.

One thing I found astonishing was how proud they are of their uniform and what they have, every day they come in clean and smart in their white uniforms. It still baffles me how they do it when I couldn't even manage to get to school on a tro without a bit of dirt of my clothes, but I guess I didn't have the fear of being caned. They still believe in corporal punishment in Ghana but by the end of my stay, in one school at least, it was reduced, 'Madam Olivia says "no"'. Madam Augustina was keen to stop it, so I tried to give her other was of disciplining, like extra work and detentions for example.

I went to visit a few of my students and their homes and tried to put myself in their shoes and live a day of their life. Most of them would wake at 5am to help with chores around the compound, get to school and clean the school, have a full day of school and then go home to do more work. There is nothing for them to do to enjoy themselves or to expand their creativity. When I mentioned that word in class I only got blank faces back, they didn't know what it was because they're so used to copying things out of a text book and very rarely do they get the chance to express their own opinions and skills. This is why I tried to incorporate more class debates and tasks where they had to form their own opinion, I noticed their improvement mostly in their Christmas exam, getting the highest average in Form 2, and they made me very proud!

I tried to ring my parents as and when I could and dad was always stunned how clear the line was, after his hesitation on the phone registering who I was and where I was. One unforgettable memory I had was around Christmas time when I was teaching the girls some Christmas carols and I rung dad, my class was so excited to hear his voice on loud speaker and we all sung 'The 10 days of Christmas'. I know he really enjoyed it and so did I, being away from family at Christmas was very hard considering I was the only white person in my village, you cant help but feel a bit lonely sometimes, which made the arrival of my mum on boxing day so much better!

I hit the jackpot with my host family; they were very welcoming and were always making sure I was ok. They included me in their life like I had always been there and were always keen to get me to attend church and weddings with them, as well as pound fufu with them. Fufu is a mixture of boiled plantain and yams, pounded until it's like a sticky dough almost; its one of the Ghanaian specialities, but not one for the Obruni's (person from the horizon) if they don't have strong stomachs!

Working at the orphanage was sad. Trying to nurture children who had been given away by their parents, mainly because they were unable to financially support them was hard. The people there stole my heart, I loved sitting talking to the friends that I made, listening to their stories and how religion helps them keep faith alive.

The children were nothing but amazing. At times I was scared when handling children with disabilities, I was afraid I would hurt them and give them more pain, so I tried to find ways of making them happy, 'head, shoulders, knees and toes' was their favourite. Especially Faustina. She was three years old and had water on the brain. Most of the time she cried in pain, but hearing her laugh and seeing her smile was heaven.

Frances was a little boy I cared for, he was HIV positive and came to the orphanage to build strength and get an education, I saw him a couple of weeks before I left with his mum and nothing could of made me happier.

There were many interesting people there and I could sit here writing about them for ages, all the funny and sad things that happened, but then I could be here forever.

Part 2 to follow

Taking Tennis to Ghana

by Frankie Snare

On 12th January this year, I set off on the start of my gap year travels, not knowing what life held in store for me for the next seven months; I was planning to spend three months coaching tennis in Ghana, followed by four months on a round the world trip.

My gap year adventures ultimately turned out to be some of the best life experiences I have ever had and probably will ever have!

When I arrived in Ghana, I was working with young boys aged between 7-14 years old to develop their tennis skills. Although they had very few skills and not exactly the best quality equipment available to them, some of them were amazingly talented players and really committed to playing their chosen sport and improving their skill level.

I was living in a town called Teshie, which was about a 45 minute tro-tro ride outside of Accra. For the majority of my time there, I was working in Accra Tennis Club, but I also spent quite a few weeks up in the mountains living in a village called Begoro, which was about a five hour and very cramped and uncomfortable tro-tro ride from Accra! Begoro was a much less developed village with a lot less on offer, but every day the boys would come straight up from school, singing and whistling, and head straight to the court to get all the equipment out and start warming up (even without being asked). There was a group of eight boys here and occasionally two girls! They were aged between nine and thirteen and were incredibly friendly.

On the first day when we arrived to teach the boys, Festos, the head coach who was working on trying to develop and improve the opportunities available to these boys, just handed them straight over to us, which was slightly daunting at first! We had ten faces staring at us very intently, their English wasn't always the best and we had no idea of the standard of play we were dealing with. We started off with some basic feeding to analyse them (it transpired that they were pretty much all completely different standards) and to find out what we could work on in the next few weeks.

Despite the exceedingly hot weather and dry heat, we had very productive sessions and the boys had great fun. Previously they had been used to being drilled balls for the whole two hour session which, especially for the younger ones, is very monotonous, not particularly challenging and therefore less likely to improve their tennis. So instead we varied our lessons, bringing in lots of different drills and games that we use in England and they thoroughly enjoyed these. In fact, there was one game called the 'Go game' which was a particular favourite and they couldn't seem to get enough of it!

The boys seemed so committed to trying to improve their games and were constantly asking questions and making sure they were still doing it right. It really was such an amazing feeling, especially when my time with them had come to an end, to see that all of their games had improved in some way or another. It was especially gratifying to see the older boys who always stayed on at the end of each session to play against each other, putting in to practice what we had just taught them. The final match after my final session was unbelievable to watch. A boy called Abraham, who had always won his matches before, as he was a very skilled player and knew exactly how to challenge the other boys in order to win, played against Michael, who was one of the friendliest, happiest and most committed people I am ever likely to meet, constantly asking if he was doing it right and always eager to learn. During this final match, it turned out to be Michael who won, and seeing him actually put into practice what we had taught him over the few weeks we had been there and for it to work in his favour, was brilliant.

I would have loved to have stayed there despite it being an extremely basic village with no running water and having fried chicken and rice or rice and beans everyday! Compared to the hustle, noise and smells of Accra, it was such a peaceful, beautiful little village with so many friendly Ghanaians and little children in the street. Also during my time over there, I spent a week in another very small village called Oda, where we stayed with a family who were self sufficient. Here we visited the orphanage a few times.

There about twenty very young children from between one year to eight years of age. We taught them Ten Green Bottles and Old MacDonald and in return they sang and taught us lots of their Ghanaian nursery rhymes, which were slightly harder to sing along to due to them being in Ghanaian! Also while we were there we spent some time farming, weeding and carrying firewood back to the house from their plantations on our heads.

We had to go through the village and this turned out to be very amusing for the local ladies who were sitting on the side of the street! None of us girls seemed to have the balance needed to be able to balance things on our head without holding on to them with our hands as well, which really defeats the whole point in carrying them on your head in the first place!

The family we were living with were self sufficient, so during the day whilst the men were out farming, the women would spend most of the day sitting outside preparing and making banku, which is one of their staple foods. This is made from ground up maize and water. It takes quite a few days to prepare, as they first have to peel off all the leaves from the maize, then get all the maize off the cob, grind it with water and then leave it to rest for a few days. It was served to us with some fish, which we had caught earlier on during the day from the river.

Living over there for three months and facing many different experiences and meeting so many different people, allowed me to have one of the most life-enhancing experiences I am ever likely to have. Despite their having so little and having none of the everyday luxuries that we take for granted over here, like running water for instance, they are all so happy with their lives and constantly smiling. For me this has to be one of the best and most eye opening experiences I am ever likely to come across and I really hope to go back out and continue working with the boys some time in the near future.

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