For the past three years, UWC Red Cross Nordic has been invited to take part in Ridderdagene – an annual event where people come together for a weekend at Storedal in South-Eastern Norway to prove that everybody can participate in, and enjoy outdoor activities and sports regardless of ability.

Dylan DeMarco (UWC RCN 14-16), a member of the ‘Knights EAC’ at the College, which prepares students for participation in Ridderdagene and its sister event, Ridderrrennet, reports on this August’s event:

While the final days of the first years’ intro-week came to a close, over ten hours of driving and ferries away, a group of students volunteered and took part in Ridderdagene.  The summertime sibling of the Ridderrennet winter sports and races took place in fantastic sunny weather, only to be outshined by the beaming smiles of the participants hoisting medals high overhead. RCN was represented in the 40km and 10km bicycle races by Yerson Castellanos (Colombia), Melvin Gomez (El Salvador), and Alberto Arroyo (Spain) along with their companions on the road Cedric Rakotoarimanana (Madagascar), Dylan DeMarco, and Elias Rodriguez (Argentina).

On the day of their arrival, the participants and the rest of the volunteer group helped to organize and set-up the Storedal Cultural Center and the farm for the arrival of the scouts and other participants who would be camping outside over the weekend. The following morning held the main events: a 40km, 20km, 10km, and 5km bicycle race through the rest of Storedal and some of the picturesque surrounding farmland. After some well-earned rest and water came a cultural show which included a song and a Latino dance from the RCN volunteers as well as other musical performances and an impressive demonstration by a blind participant who rapidly chopped and prepared an entire salad while keeping his hands whole and unharmed!   

The weekend was capped off with a day spent by the sea, with sailing, swimming, and some of the last good sunshine of the summer to be shared by all before making the long overnight journey back to campus. With the weekend coming to a close, classes rising on the near horizon, and another year of RCN to look forward to, there was plenty to reflect on during the return trip to campus. Of course, the occasional break to stretch the legs and dance around left plenty of fun to be had on the road. Ridderdagene was and has always been a great time for those involved, both participating and volunteering, and the participants from this year already eagerly wait for being able to return again next year!

Diane Hanisch, the Project Leader for Ridderdagene på Storedal, wrote to the College after the event to say:

… I would like to thank you for giving us at Ridderdagene på Storedal the privilege of having a group of students from the school.  As always, they were a wonderful group of young people, helpful, hardworking and talented. Again, my heartfelt thanks for UWC´s involvement in Ridderdagene på Storedal.

Click here for an album of pictures.

Over the course of the summer break many students worked on humanitarian projects back in their home countries. Bruno Felalaga (second year – Ghana) reports back:

During my summer vacation in Ghana, I took the opportunity to visit Sakyikrom United Primary school in the Eastern region of Ghana. This is one school that two student-led humanitarian organizations – Do Remember Other People (DROP)  and Living Environment And the Future (LEAF) – at UWC Red Cross Nordic have been supporting and renovating since November 2013.  This school, now 72 years old, had not received any sort of renovation since its establishment in 1943 – and prior to the support of DROP and LEAF. Therefore for all these years the school was in a greatly dilapidated state. The building could also not stand the elements since its roofing was in a very poor condition; hence classes could not be held whenever it rained or it was very windy. This situation had some of the students and teachers wanting to be transferred to other schools.

This project of renovating the school has been going on since 2013 – first initiated by our predecessors at UWC Red Cross Nordic and still in process. It mainly included the total replacement of the roofing, improvement of the masonry, starting of primary electrical work and insulation, provision of doors and windows, painting and the beginning of a garden to help improve the self-sustainability of the school.

It was very astonishing to see the state of the school when I first got there this summer with my second year from Ghana, Rhoda . It had taken on a new look and one could mistake it for a newly built school. But most amazing was the gratitude and appreciation shown by the teachers and the students in the school. They were so happy to see us and many of them told us that they were very happy and comfortable in the renovated building. This touched our hearts more than anything else since all we want is to put smiles on the faces of these children.

Please find below the letter sent to our Rektor by Emmanuel Asiedu, the Headmaster of Sakyikrom:

It is a pleasure for me write to you concerning the great collaboration between our two institutions UWC Red Cross Nordic and Sakyikrom United Basic School. 

By way of introduction, I am Emmanuel Asiedu-Mantey, Headmaster of Sakyikrom United Basic School. The school comprises of three departments: the kindergarten for children between the ages of four and six years, the primary for children between  six years and twelve years and the Junior High School for students between 12 and 15 years. Your wonderful renovation work is so far concentrated on the primary department.

 Sakyikrom United Basic School serves about seven communities and villages, but the school is situated in Sakyikrom, a distant suburb of Nsawam, in the Eastern Region of Ghana. There are 325 students in the whole school with 19 teachers and attendants. Various subjects including mathematics and science are taught here.

The school, which was established in 1944, had seen no proper maintenance and so it was a relief when DROP, LEAF and the Live it Fund at Macalester College, USA offered to assist the school when it became very crucial with possible collapse of the building. In fact, the tremendous work done by DROP and  LEAF cannot escape commendation. I must say that the school’s interaction with Bruno and Rhoda over the past weeks during their summer holidays was so wonderful. They are true ambassadors of UWC Red Cross Nordic.

Now, by the courtesy of DROP, the primary department has been painted, roofed and plastered. The windows and doors have been fixed. White boards have also been fixed to replace the old black boards in all the classrooms. Hope you see the videos soon. This project, I must say is a morale booster to teachers, parents and students. Students and teachers go about their business in the classrooms without the fear of collapsing structures. Parents are no longer withdrawing their wards to other safe schools. It is our fervent hope that, come next academic year, the primary department should be flooded with parents looking for admissions for their wards.

Thank you to DROP, LEAF and the entire UWC Red Cross Nordic community helping to save Sakyikrom United Basic School and restoring hope and confidence to Sakyikrom United Basic School and the communities it serves.

Hope to hear from you.

Emmanuel, Ghana

It is great to see so many exciting projects of public service happening through RCN across the world and we look forward to publishing other stories connected to our Humanitarian Pillar during the course of this academic year and showcasing different projects  when Her Majesty Queen Sonja and other visitors are on campus for our Jubilee celebrations in September.