Mathematician of the Week

Writer of the Week

Wall of Fame

Mathematician of the Week

Writer of the Week

Wall of Fame

Mathematician of the Week

Writer of the Week

Wall of Fame

Wall of Fame

Mathematician of the Week

Writer of the Week

Wall of Fame

African Adventure Day 5

We survived the night! Now we know that the village is habitable once again, and we have just one more problems to solve before the villagers can move back in. 

The water we collected in our race yesterday was not clean enough to drink, so we needed to find a way of filtering it. We built our own filters using the stones on the beach and produced water which looked much cleaner.

The water source, however, was still a long way from the village, so we built a pipeline to transport the water directly into the village.

Finally, our task was complete. The final stage was to pass our collected water through a slow sand water filter. This works in a similar way to the filters we built on the beach, but is much more effective, producing water that is of drinkable quality.

We learnt that our attendance this week has benefited a real African community, with enough money being donated to Samaritan's Purse to pay for a water filter to be installed in an African village.

In the last ten years, the percentage of the global population with access to clean drinking water has risen from just 33% to approximately 90%. But there is still work to do. With 10% of the world still relying on dirty water supplies, that's 700 million people who still need our help.

Our challenge now is to continue to raise money to buy more water filters and support the work of the charities who are helping to eradicate this problem.

It has been an amazing adventure, but all good things must come to an end. As we head home to our families, we can reflect on all that we have achieved and the friendships we have built.

For the final time, this is Mosuwe, saying farewell.

African Adventure Day 4 (Part 2)

Yesterday afternoon we had some down time as we learned about the Masaai tribe. We had a go at our own shepherding, guiding our blindfolded 'sheep' around an obstacle course using just sounds and claps. 

In the large hut, we created strings of 'life beads' which tell the story of our lives from birth to the present day. Each bead was carefully chosen to represent a particular moment in our lives.

Evening was soon upon us, and it was time to showcase our talents around the campfire. What an array of interesting and varied acts we enjoyed!

Finally, the time came to play games, tell jokes and roast marshmallows on the fire, before our night staying in the African huts.

African Adventure Day 4 (Part 1)

One of the most difficult problems we had to solve was getting water to the village. We heard the story of Wesselina, a Malawian woman who has to travel for 3 miles every morning to the nearest well, then carry the dirty water she retrieved from it another three miles back to her home, the water bucket balanced on her head.

We undertook a walk along the cliff path and down onto the beach where we did some scavenging on the tide line.

Our walk was just over one-and-a-half miles, about a quarter of the distance that Wesselina travels daily, but in the hot morning sun, it felt far enough.

Once back at the site, we took some time to relax and prepare for this evening's talent show.

We then experienced what it is like for Wesselina carrying all that water on her head by racing in our teams to fill a barrel. This descended into a free-for-all waterfight in which Mr Mansell, Mrs Johnson and the African Adventure leaders got thoroughly soaked, along with all the children!

African Adventure Day 3

The challenges continue on day 3, as we experience what it would be like for our villagers to access medical support from their village. For many, the only source of medicine is via a mercy ship or a long walk to the nearest hospital. This could involve crossing narrow rope bridges, and this is exactly what we faced today. 

The journey would have been almost impossible to make alone, but working as a team made it much more manageable.

For some children, the journey to school is very different to our own, involving difficult climbs. We tested ourselves against the traversing wall to experience a moment in their lives.

Another of the problems we had to solve for the village was to bring back a food supply. We practised our archery skills to bring food back.

The afternoon involved some more orienteering, followed by a spot of free time on the beach.

This was followed by a special African dinner. This evening's activity involves trading crops and learning about the difficulties that many African countries face.

Lots more to do tomorrow. Bye for now.

Mosuwe.

African Adventure Day 2 (Part 2)

This afternoon, we cleared the minefield with some careful detecting, brushing and disarming, with only minimal loss of limbs!

The teachers were saved from an agonising death, when the medicine chests were found and delivered just in time.

Then came the important task of collecting firewood ready for Thursday's campfire.

After a delicious meal, we learnt how it might feel to be one of the many Africans who have lost their sight to mines, by completing an obstacle course blindfolded.

It has been a very busy day, and we are all very tired. We are looking forward to our beds and a good night's sleep, before the tasks ahead of us tomorrow.

Mosuwe signing off.