Connecting Continents Fundraising So Far: Africa Dance Party £1000 Carol Concert £703  Class 11 Refreshments £429 Nick & Jane Sutton flight donation £200 Class 8 £1 Challenge £465 Mary-Jane & Jeremy Singing for Sierra Leone £138 Aidan, Bradley & Josh, Singing for SL £185 £300 cash donation from Sophia Nicholson

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CONNECTING CONTINENTS   Steiner-Waldorf education arose in the aftermath of the First World War as nations strove to reconcile their differences and educationalists sought to meet the needs of war-affected children. Today there continue to be many parts of the world devastated by war and burdened by poverty, countries in which Waldorf education is as relevant now as it ever was.   Connecting Continents is about raising awareness of the plight of such children, about reaching across to communities in need, and about fostering Waldorf education around the globe. Our aim is to make a positive difference, both to the children of the schools with which we connect and to our own pupils by broadening their horizons and deepening their understanding of those communities. With the launch of the Connecting Continents initiative we have decided to support the Goderich Steiner School in Sierra Leone.     Easter Conference 2009 In April 2009 our school hosted the annual national Steiner-Waldorf Schools Fellowship teachers’ conference. Its theme was Worldwide Waldorf: Meeting the World through Waldorf Education. One highlight, reported on in the Fellowship newsletter, was a presentation by the charity, Consult-Educ, about the setting up of a child-centred teacher training programme based on Steiner-Waldorf pedagogy.

Sierra Leone The Goderich Waldorf School is at present the only Steiner-Waldorf school in West Africa. It was founded in 2001 by Shannoh Kandoh, a Liberian social worker working in Sierra Leone, at the end of a ten-year civil war in which thousands of children were conscripted as soldiers and rebel groups destroyed entire villages. The school served a population of children orphaned or displaced during the war, children who early in life learn to work for their survival, some as street vendors, others as beggars, drug dealers, or worse. Sierra Leone’s weak economy and lack of basic social services mean that the school’s students are still at risk of malnutrition, exploitation in child labour, illiteracy and eventual unemployment as young adults. The Goderich Waldorf School offers them not only primary education, but a safe haven where they can receive nutritious meals and medical care.   We are in the process of finding a teacher to go to the Goderich Steiner School to help support them with teacher training and development of the curriculum.    There are a number of fundraising activities happening this term to raise money for Sierra Leone. Please click on this link for more details of these great events. For more information on the Goderich Steiner school, including ways to further support this project, please go to their website on www.goderichwaldorf.org/   It is our sincerest hope that this space serves as a springboard to support and share Steiner Waldorf resources around the globe. To this end, we would especially love to hear about your stories and experiences of Steiner Waldorf education, particularly if you are visiting this site from outside the UK. Please do get in touch with us directly on priya@rsskl.org   We look forward to hearing from you   Priya Mahtani Connecting Continents Team!