British schools working in Moldova
The Ambassador shines a light on the work of two British schools in Moldova.
British Ambassador Mr Phil Batson and students from Abingdon school visiting children from day care centre in Ialoveni.
Abingdon School is a leading independent day and boarding school for boys just south of Oxford. Since 2000 the school has been supporting the work of Agape (a Christian charity working with young people in vulnerable situations).
On 15 July the British Ambassador, Phil Batson, visited Agape’s day care centre in Ialoveni just south of Chisinau. By day sixth formers entertain, teach English, crafts and other skills to around 30 local children between the ages of 7 and 15 who live in sometimes precarious situations. By night the boys live with families in the village throughout their 10 day stay.
Sixth formers from the Willink school (a State school from Berkshire) have been coming to the village of Tantareni (situated to the south east of Chisinau) since 2005 under the sobriquet “Flying Pigs”. This year 29 mixed sixth form students spent a week entertaining local children in the village school with activities such as art, drama, music, sport and English. By night the British students lodged with local families and for an all-too-brief week they are immersed in the local community.
Thanks to its driving force, Claire Downey, the Flying Pigs will celebrate their 10th anniversary in Moldova in 2014.