A visit from a MAG representative in 2006 led to Luanda International School (LIS) adopting the issue of landmines, in a partnership with MAG, as one of its main community and service projects.
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Luanda International School students Dominique (left), Nikita (front), Tania (right) and Qistina (back). |
After three decades of conflict, parts of Angola are amongst the most landmine-affected areas in the world. The immediate post-conflict period since April 2002 has seen hundreds of thousands of refugees return to the countryside. Mined roads and destroyed bridges still present a significant obstacle to post-war recovery, and the presence of minefields around many of the major population centres is placing intense pressure on land for agriculture and resettlement.
LIS was established in 2002. It is situated in Luanda Sul, a new suburb south of the capital city, Luanda. The school has grown rapidly over the last few years and now has classes from Pre-school through to Year 13. All classes follow the International Baccalaureate (IB) organisation’s programmes of education. Community and service is an integral part of the IB’s programmes at LIS.
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Every October, LIS holds a Mine Awareness Week in which all classes discuss the issues surrounding landmines. |
Recognising that humanitarian organisations have a key role to play in facilitating the safe return of refugees and in contributing towards Angola's socio-economic reconstruction – through clearance of land for cultivation and construction, as well as the clearance of access routes and vital social service facilities – LIS supports MAG's work in Angola.
Acknowledging the fact that students cannot actively be involved in clearing landmines, yet seeing the need to respond to the problem of landmines in our host country, teachers and students at LIS decided to tackle a landmines community and service project in a different way.
Year 7 students, aged 11 and 12, started the ball rolling with the production of a film which highlights the problems of landmines in Angola.
Every October, the school holds its annual Mine Awareness Week in which all classes, from primary up to secondary, discuss the issues surrounding landmines. In 2007 the school organised a poster competition, in which all the children designed their own mines awareness poster.
Fundraising on behalf of MAG is also an annual activity on the school calendar. Every year it holds a charity golf tournament, from which all proceeds are donated directly to MAG Angola. Through its partnership with MAG, the issue of landmines has become one of their main community and service projects.
More on Luanda International School's involvement:
