Comberton Village College’s annual Walk for the World to help refugees
Refugees settling in the area will benefit from Comberton Village College’s Walk for the World.
The long-running annual whole-school walk takes in a circular three-mile route from the college through Toft and across the fields and golf course back to Comberton.
Some £3,300 was raised, thanks to a non-uniform day coinciding with the walk, which will benefit the Cambridge Refugee Settlement Campaign (CRSC). Comberton has refugees from conflicts across the world among its students and has seen an influx of those fleeing the war in Ukraine. The money will help CRSC aid children and families, including funding one-to-one support with homework, activities and outings during school holidays, as well as talks and presentations about refugee issues at local schools.
The walk on September 21 involved around 2,500 students and staff, and also supported two orphanages linked with Comberton’s partner schools in South Africa and Peru.
Walk organiser Marielle Burgess said: “The Walk for the World will continue to support our long-standing partner school in Africa and the Casa Hogar orphanages in Peru as they strive to offer educational opportunities and pastoral care to young people in challenging circumstances.
“We have had a 14-year partnership with the Lord Byron school in Arequipa. During that time we have expanded our link to include work in a group of three orphanages (Casa Hogar) on specific projects that we help to fund.
“In 2019, when Year 10 and 11 students were there, they helped children with their chores in one orphanage, and supported a regular open morning for elderly homeless people from the local community in another.
“The Walk for the World money from previous years has enabled the orphanage to update essential safety equipment and replace faulty kitchen equipment. This year we aim to support the education of older children in the orphanages, enabling several of them to continue longer in education.
“Walk for the World money has also provided funds to support the Butterfly orphanage affiliated with our South Africa partner school, Edendale in South Africa, with whom we have been linked for more than 25 years and have enjoyed many pre-pandemic exchange visits in both directions.”
