Loreto student Michelle Cullinane in Kenya
Loreto students Ciara Corrigan and Michelle Cullinane at a tree planting ceremony in Kenya
In May 2009 two of our students visited two Loreto schools in Kenya. This article was written on their return
This is a very special year for the Loreto schools of the world as it is the celebration of the 400-year anniversary of Mary Ward`s birth. Mary Ward, the founder of our Loreto schools, was a revolutionary woman of her time as she strived to provide equal education for women of the world. Many events have been organised to celebrate this historic year.
As part of the celebration a link project was organised by Michael Denny of the Loreto Education Board which involved sending two girls from each of the sixteen Loreto schools in the Republic of Ireland to Kenya for two weeks. Workshops were held in each of the schools around Christmas time to give students an idea of what the trip involved. We were immediately interested and eager to apply. Each applicant was required to write a letter which showed an interest in justice and peace issues and a strong involvement in school life. On Friday the 13th, unlucky for some, we were called to the principal`s office where we were shocked and humbled to discover that we had been chosen for this once in a lifetime opportunity.
Preparations got underway and we began researching information on our future destination, Nairobi, Kenya. We began receiving emails from Michael Denny and on the 28th of February we anxiously met with the other girls chosen for the trip in Loreto College St. Stephens Green. At this seminar we recieved a talk from Colm Regan and from him we learned that the main aim of this trip was about challenging our perspectives. Hearing this talk and meeting the other girls got us really excited about the prospects of what was to come. Looking back it felt like the trip would never become a reality but sure enough the faithful day arrived.
On the 1st of June, which also happened to be Kenya’s Independence Day, thirty two Loreto students, five teachers and Sr. Kathleen Maclennon assembled in Dublin airport in the very early hours of the morning. Twelve not so short hours later we had crossed the equator and found ourselves snuggled up underneath our mosquito nets anxious at the thought of making the Mary Ward centre our home for the next two weeks.
&nbs