St Benedict’s Primary School in Narrabundah are following in the footsteps of Jesus by being called to live out a mission locally and globally, partnering with a school in Kenya to help educate students and provide primary needs of the school.

Through their local mission, the school is supporting the St Benedict’s Parish Community, Catitas, Catholic Missions and St Vincent de Paul, and in November 2017 St Benedict’s partnered with Gesore Preparatory School in Kenya with a population of 140 students where many are affected by poverty and HIV AIDS.  

St Benedict’s became associated with Gesore through the work of Jann and Simon Carroll and Global School Partners.

Global School Partners is a not-for-profit charity that facilitates partnerships between schools in Australia and schools in developing nations to enable students from across the globe to connect, share and learn with one another.

St Benedict’s Principal Rachel Smith said that Gesore Preparatory School is a vital need in Kenya’s community for quality education for the young.

“At the end of last term our students spent time writing letters, cards and messages for the students of Gesore telling them about life at St Benedict’s and life in Australia,” she said.   

“These were then delivered to the school by the Global School Partners team accompanied by a banner that the students created with their hand prints.”

“We look forward to continuing to develop this partnership and relationship.”

Global School Partners believes that education can overcome poverty, with their vision and mission becoming action through the RICH matrix:

R = Resources to improve the educational environment, like desks, blackboards, stationary, classrooms

I = Information to maximise the learning experience, with text books and teacher training

C = Connection to foster global citizenship, through pen pals and sponsorship

H = Health to retain a healthy body, through supporting basic hygiene with water and sanitation.

Together with Global School Partnerships, St Benedict’s aims to help Gesore with classroom resources, access to water and new toilets as primary needs of the school.