Outdoor activity for all

2018-10-16T09:34:00+01:00September 2nd, 2013|

A weekend of outdoor life and activities for all, regardless of disability, on Erling Stordahl’s farm. “Fun and inspiring!” says Lakpa Lama, one of eleven RCN students who took part in the very first Ridderdagene (The Days of the Knights).

We all wander in the darkness. Some because they don’t see with their eyes, some because they don’t see with their thoughts. Most of us because we don’t see each other…

Erling Stordahl gradually lost his sight, and became fully blind at the age of 13, but proved to himself and to the world that people with disabilities can have a rich life and do great things in spite of – and sometimes even thanks to – At the farm their handicap. He said that “Life is what your thoughts make it into.” and “We all wander in the darkness. Some because they don’t see with their eyes, some because they don’t see with the thoughts. Most of us because we don’t see each other”.

RCN students have regularly attended ‘Ridderrennet’, the winter sports event that Stordahl initiated 50 years ago at Beitostølen, where people from all over the world, with different abilities, come to compete with each other and challenge their own, and others’ expectations. This year Ridderdagene was organized for the first time at Stordahl’s farm in Sarpsborg, South of Oslo. Ridderdagene is a bicycle race, but also a chance for people to meet over a weekend, and try out many outdoor activities. Anyone can try the activities and learn about how we can include all people in different kinds of situations.

Edwin Gonzalez and Yeison Santos from RCN participated in the race and came in as number 9 and 13 out of 17 participants in the 24.8 km long race (the short race was 3 km): very impressive results when you know that Edwin doesn’t have hands and has limited sight, and that Yeison has a foot prosthesis! All participants had “buddies”, who cycled along with them, either on a single or a tandem bike. Edwin and Yeison cycled with Nghiem Huynh and Modi Elisa.

So what did the other students and Fk volunteer Andrew Mkumbi do? They pushed participants up a hill during the race; they helped setting up the arena and the tents; they instructed people in activities; interacted and helped people that came to the farm during the weekend and got to know a team of very helpful scouts, who gave us a tent and food during the stay.

The accommodation was very simple – there were no 5-star hotels at the farm! – but, when the night came, the RCN delegation discovered that they were staying in a million-star hotel, and were in the good company of fine, kind and very inspiring people.

Our thanks go to all those who made it possible for us to attend this event – hopefully we’ll be able to do it again next year!

Volunteers at RCN

2018-10-16T09:34:00+01:00September 2nd, 2013|

Jadiyetu Dah

Jadiyetu Dah

For several years, as part of our ongoing Fredskorpset-sponsored Exchange Project with the Western Sahara refugee camps in southwest Algeria, we have hosted two Saharawi volunteers at the College. They have come from the baking Sahara desert to the slightly cooler shores of Flekke fjord to live and work with us for the academic year. We are continuing this happy tradition and are pleased to welcome Salma Mohamed and Jadiyetu Dah to our staff. They arrived in late July to participate in the Summer Course and are busy finding their way into this wonderful – and to them, very strange – community!

Ged Kanchang

Ged Kanchang

Andrew Nkumbi

Andrew Nkumbi

As the political situation in the Maghreb continues to be volatile, Fredskorpset has enabled us to extend the project and we are now sending the Norwegian FK volunteers to Thailand and Tanzania instead of to the Sharawi refugee camps. In turn, we are hosting a volunteer from each of those countries, Ged Kanchiang from the Mercy Centre in Bangkok, Thailand and Andrew Nkumbi from the Great Lakes Training Institute in Mwanza, Tanzania. Read more about the Fredskorpset Exchange Project here.

We welcome these four enthusiastic young people, and look forward to their contributions to College life in the coming year.

Veronika Kara

Veronika Kara

We are also fortunate to be able to strengthen our ties to Hungary through an EEA grant. This grant has enabled Veronika Kara to come to the College until December to learn about how UWC uses education as a uniting force, as an exchange between UWC and the ‘Never Give Up Foundation’ in Hungary. While here Veronika will work on our engagement towards Roma people through education. Later she will bring back experience to her organization, with the aim to further develop co-operation. Read more about this exchange program, here.

The new term starts

2018-10-16T09:34:01+01:00August 26th, 2013|

After the long summer break, the new term has begun.

The Summer Course was nearing the end of its 3-week programme at the College when second-years arrived in Oslo on 17th August for ‘Oslo Day’. Accommodation was generously provided by Berg videregånde skole, guides to take small groups of second-years around the city were arranged by the Norwegian National Committee, and a museum tour and food were given by Marianne Andresen. We were also very fortunate that Kåre Willoch, a former Prime Minister of Norway, took a group of students on a tour of the parliament buildings. Many thanks to all these for their generosity and kindness.

Former Norwegian Prime Minister Kare Willoch giving students a tour of the parliament buildings

Kare Willoch, former Norwegian Prime Minister, gave a tour of the parliament to the second-year students

Returning to the College the students prepared for the arrival of their first-years. Simon Walker, a visiting speaker who had been giving workshops to staff, delivered a very well-received talk to the assmbled second-years about the challenges and opportunities that the coming year will bring and about the guiding role that they will have in helping the first-years adjust to life here.

That same night, with much whooping and hollering, the second-years greeted the first-year buses as they arrived in the early morning of the 20th August. It must have been very exciting and slightly terrifying!

Once here, after a few hours sleep, all students and staff were welcomed by Larry in the Auditorium. He gave an address that reminded us all to take care of each other – of the importance of compassion, conversation and companionship as we live, study and work together at the College. Read his address here.

The activities of Introduction Week began on Wednesday 21st: being taken on a tour of the campus with their new roommates; finalising academic subjects; having photographs taken for student cards; meeting with Advisors and House Intro WeekMentors; being introduced to the Leirskule activities they will be involved with during their time at the College (archery, canoeing, climbing, cultural sharing and more). The weather was kind for much of the week, and the sun shone as students played ‘getting-to’know-you’ games, particpated in inter-house competitions – including the inaugural football competition on the newly-completed Ballrink between student houses, staff from the College and Haugland Rehabilitation Centre.

Classes will begin on Wednesday 28th. We are all looking forward to the year ahead.

See a slideshow of images from the week

Summer Course 2013

2018-10-16T09:34:01+01:00August 25th, 2013|

The 2013 summer course got off to a great start at the end of July, with the arrival of the 16 students from Latin America, the Middle East, Asia/Pacific, and Africa. Two English language teachers, RCN alumna Madeleine Benishek and RCN teacher Peter Wilson were ably supported by a team of volunteers who led extracurricular activities including sports, fishing, cooking, and hiking. We also had eight Norwegian Fredskorpset volunteers who were given hands-on training and teaching practice under Pete’s experienced eye, training for their assignments in Tanzania and Thailand. They did a great job in setting the tone for the whole course – a mixture of serious learning and fun.

Students, volunteers and teacher Peter Wilson in the classroom

In the classroom – students, FK volunteers and teacher Peter Wilson

Madeleine, coming to the end of the 3-week course wrote:

As a newcomer to the summer course I did not know what to expect when I arrived at RCN to teach students from thirteen different countries, from Thailand to Colombia to Angola. After a week of planning the students arrived and names on a page became faces and personalities. Despite arriving in a completely new setting and encountering a tremendous linguistic challenges the students jumped wholeheartedly into activities, games and classes.

On typical days the students had intensive English classes from 8.15 to 12.15, followed by lunch and afternoon activities including hiking, canoeing, drawing, football and even a campus-wide scavenger hunt (culminating in an improvised sun dance!). The evenings were filled with group activities such as a campfire, karaoke, movies and even a night of Norwegian folk dancing. On the weekends the students enjoyed visiting local sites such as a medieval millstone quarry and a glacier museum.

Fun and getting-to-know-you games

Fun and games on the Summer Course

Through spending three weeks together, the students have truly come into their own. In the beginning many students were quiet and timid, yet on one of our final evenings together the same students were singing karaoke in front of friends who had only weeks ago been complete strangers. Others were eagerly sharing traditions from their own countries such as a West Saharan tea ceremony or a Chinese folk dance. The summer course students will bring tremendous energy and creativity to intro week and beyond and RCN will be a richer place because of each one of them.

A special thanks go to our team of volunteers: Robin Tyne, UK (UWC Adriatic 10-12), Clara Mareschal, Belgium (UWC Adriatic 10-12), Jesper Bak-Christensen, Denmark (UWCRCN 08-10) and Kirsten Fix (USA) with current RCN students Edwin Gonzalez, Suwanna Mabangklu and Mahfoud Bouad.

 

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