Herridge Technical School
Herridge's Humble Beginnings
Burundi is a very small country on the northern shores of Lake Tanganyika in Central East Africa and among the poorest in the world.
Whilst visiting her birth place, in the North East of Burundi, Georgette Butera came across eighty helpless orphans being cared for by a former business woman who had lost most of her possessions herself but not her big heart. Grateful to have the means to help, Georgette was able to donate money to buy enough food to last six months. Later on that day, in the town of Karusi, she came across an even greater situation of desperation. It was a camp for Internally Displaced People (IDP), no longer supported by UNHCR. Overwhelmed by the whole encounter of lost children without parental care and without education, the images haunted Georgette's sleep throughout the night. She woke up with a vision of a "School and Church" to be a refuge but also a light, a place where children could get counselling and help and secondary education.
"The experience was so engaging and all consuming, we rallied friends and family to make the vision a reality," she recalls. Enough capital was raised to build a school. It was named Herridge in honour of Audrey Herridge, a lady with inspiring generosity who helped so many Rwandan and Burundian orphans find their feet again.
ACTS established the Herridge Technical School in Burundi for orphans and destitute children which opened in 2007.
Most of the pupils come from the IDP camp and have absolutely nothing and the cooked meal provided at lunch breaks is the only meal most of the children get.
The school is fully funded from individual gifts and occasional grants. The money pays twenty one staff, buys books for each of the pupils, provides one cooked meal a day and buys two uniforms for each child. At first we offered general education whilst keeping in mind the establishment of technical sections once the charity had funds to do so.
A Catering and Hotel Management section was established in 2013. So far, the results achieved are outstanding. Graduates finish with high marks in the national tests. Although most graduates find work to support themselves, the aim is to give Herridge pupils even higher skills that will enable them to compete anywhere in the country and become breadwinners.
The Building And Opening Of Herridge
Herridge Technical School in Karusi, Burundi was completed in September 2007. It consisted of seven classrooms, offices and a refectory with secure storage and cooking facilities to enable us to ensure that our students would get at least one nourishing meal per school day. We also built two five bedroomed houses to accommodate the teachers most of whom stay at the school during the week and go home to their family at the weekends.
There was much to do in the last few days before the big opening at the start of term. The floor in the refectory had to be polished, classrooms had to be furnished with desks and chairs and uniforms had to be made and presented to the students. For most of these children their uniform was the first proper set of clothes they had ever owned.
There was much to celebrate on the day as this was a momentous occasion for the town of Karusi with our school being the first to offer free secondary education to the poorest children of its community. Large crowds came from the town and its out lying villages and communities to be a part of the celebrations. A host of bishops and ministers from the Anglican, Methodist and Pentecostal churches came to give God's blessings through their prayers for the work and future of the school. Officials from governments as far away as the USA took part in the opening day along with the most celebrated guest, the president of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza.
There was entertainment performed by the Burundian Drummers and Dancers then to finish the celebrations all of the students and officials were invited to the refectory for a meal.
Catering & Technology Centre
In 2011 the government of Burundi changed its educational curriculum which would have seriously impacted the work of the Herridge Technical School. After considering the work we were already doing with the students in secondary education it became obvious that we should also be offering practical and technical opportunities for our students further to their theoretical studies. So it was we decided to open a Catering and Technology Centre to give our students the very best chance to compete in a modern work place.
In October 2012 we took a team of fitters out to the Herridge Technical School to complete the Technology Centre. Led by Leonard Harrison along with his grandson Matthew Harrison and a friend and work colleague Ian Fletcher, the team fitted out the IT suite, kitchens, shop as well as completing the flooring and decorating.
All the materials were sourced by Len from his contacts in and around Stoke on Trent. Companies were more than generous and despite troubles with customs at the Burundian border, which gave Georgette many sleepless nights, the kitchen, IT suite, tiling, painting, gas fitting and all the electrics were completed on time.
We at ACTS and all the students that pass through the Herridge Technical School owe Len, his team and all those companies who supported us through Len a huge debt of gratitude. Thank you. Your selflessness has given so much hope to some of this worlds poorest children and will continue to do so for many years to come.
May God bless you all.
The ovens produced bread for two years from 2013 to 2015 but sadly the project had to be put on hold due to a severe shortage of flour in the country. Also the excessive costs of imports made it too expensive to continue to bake as the finished loaves were far out of the price range for local people to afford. Today the ovens remain mothballed and ready to use as we would love to see them baking again. Sadly shortages and costs continue to plague Burundi and without guaranteed subsidy and a source of materials we have no choice other than to wait. However, students are learning valuable skills which will give them much better job opportunities as they strive to make a living in a country riven by poverty and shortages.
The Technology Centre has been operating since the winter term of 2012. Please see "Catering at Herridge" for more information.
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