The 12 students and two lecturers are raising funds to embark on the 'wilderness challenge' to Namibia in October.
They will be working with Elephant Human Relations Aid (EHRA) to renovate a rural school and helping teachers, local farmers and the surrounding communities to collaborate and share resources efficiently.
Project Namibia was inspired by early years lecturer Liz Maddison’s experiences, after she made the journey herself in 2013. She travelled to Anixab Damaraland, in the Kunene region of Namibia, to work on a project to stop elephants from trampling crops and monitor their movements.
‘2013 was a milestone for me,' she said. 'A friend wanted to go to Africa too. This was a tester, two weeks of wild camping in the desert supporting elephant-human relations. I was so lucky because on my trip it just happened that we worked in a school there, so I wanted to go back. Luckily, in the position of teacher you have the opportunity to share that with students.’
Ms Maddison will also be travelling with her colleague Claire Cantwell, who is making the journey for the first time.
‘This experience will not only enrich the lives of my students, it will change their lives. Their whole perception of what it means to live a simple and poor life will most certainly challenge what they currently perceive,' she added.
The second week of the project will be dedicated to tracking, monitoring and recording the behaviours of wild desert-adapted elephants with the charity, which works on reducing conflict between humans and elephants by creating water holes for the animals to protect farmers from having their water taken.
The group will be camping in a desert village in Damaraland, away from modern ways of living and with only bedrolls for the night.
Ms Maddison added that the group also wants to work on self-esteem issues with the children.
‘The girls just end up getting married, and alcohol has found its way to the area. We want to improve their own self-esteem so they know they can do something worthwhile with their lives,’ she said.
Each student is expected to raise £1,250 by the time of the trip. Both teachers have teamed up to raise an extra £7,000 to help fund the trip on behalf of the college and have so far managed to gather £4,200.
Fundraising events have so far included cake stalls, an elephant race night and a sponsored 12-day alcohol-free Christmas, and a charity abseil is also planned.
The team will be making a film of their experiences and sharing it on their return.
- To make a donation to the project, visit http://www.gofundme.com/ProjectNamibia15
