Romania Trip

Over the summer holidays, members of staff Mrs Liz Scott, Mrs Gillian Ward and Mr Jordan Selwyn (plus Mrs Jenny Fryer, a parent) took 11 Lower Sixth Formers to Cernavoda in Romania to work at the Nightingales Children’s Project, our link charity. This is the second Dauntsey’s visit to the Project organised via DEAMS (Dauntsey's Expedition and Mountaineering Society).

Nightingales is a home for HIV positive teenagers and young adults. The pupils and staff stayed at the Centre, and used its facilities to run a summer club for the local children of the town. This entailed playing sports and games, teaching dance and juggling and providing many craft activities for up to 60 children from extremely poor backgrounds. The pupils worked extremely hard as their summer club ran for 5-6 hours a day, and in temperatures of 35-37 degrees centigrade.

Although clearly exhausting, the experience was highly rewarding and many special bonds and friendships were forged.  At the end of the visit, the children at the Centre said farewell to the pupils with a show, barbeque and disco – Romanian style! There were lots of tears as they departed, but another trip is already being planned for summer 2009 (dates yet to be confirmed).

There was a bit of time for rest and relaxation as well, and the group spent a night in a backpackers hostel, went sightseeing and shopping in Bucharest and had a glorious day off at the seaside where they swam in the Black Sea. At all times, the pupils travelled on local buses and trains and ate genuine Romanian cuisine in restaurants and at the Centre.

This was a challenging and life-changing experience for all concerned.