As part of our College’s partnership with the Norwegian Red Cross, we host different types of workshops, lectures and activities led or supervised by the Norwegian Red Cross in order to introduce Red Cross values and principles to our students. On Thursday 20th of November, as one of the activities offered for those on campus during November break, the College hosted a workshop run by Pål A. Dahl, a member of the Sogn og Fjordane Red Cross. The topic, Disaster Preparedness, was taught by exploring concepts such as capacity and vulnerability through interactive discussions that encouraged students to share their perspectives and experiences; and evaluating theoretical cases in order to see how we can improve the College preparedness for any potential hazard.

The workshop focused on: building capacity, personal preparedness, emergency plans, mapping risk and vulnerability. This enabled students to have a better understanding of related concepts, comprehend how to plan an emergency response and learn how to prepare for different types of hazards. This was a stimulating training course which served to introduce the 16 students present to disaster preparedness, an essential part of the Red Cross – both in Norway and in other parts of the world.

Thank you to Avis Rolfe, RCN’s Red Cross Coordinator, and Hilde Genberg for setting this training opportunity up for us – and to the SoF team for making it happen.

Abdul Abo Shokur (RCN ’17 Syria & Sweden)

Our Diploma Coordinator and English/Theatre teacher, Pete Wilson recently spent a week at LAMS school in Faisalabad. The school was established to provide free education for the children of factory workers in Sultan Town. The factories produce rugs and other cotton goods for export, including to Norway. Currently almost 700 children from 3 to 16 years of age are accommodated by the school. There are 29 teachers and staff at the school (see below). From kindergarten upwards, much of the teaching is bilingual in Urdu and English.

Pete visited the school by invitation from Laila Bokhari, a deputy member of RCN’s Board and State Secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose father was one of the founders of the school in 1996. The school is funded via profits from the factory, donations from private individuals and sponsorship from the likes of the Rotary Club.

Boys must leave the school aged 12 and enroll in other local schools, as the school’s philosophy is to concentrate on girls’ education at the secondary level. Long-held beliefs and cultural traditions have meant that until very recent times, girls’ education in Sultan Town has been a low priority for families. Pete was also able to visit local families to witness at first hand the difference in local living standards that having educated daughters can bring about. Pete’s hosts also organized a visit to COMSAT University, Lahore as well as to Badshahi Mosque and Lahore Fort.

Pete intends to pay a return visit next year to work with the LAMS teachers on staff and curriculum development and to explore further possible links between our two schools. The students at the school have high expectations of their teachers – as the picture shows!