The Waterford School Trust

(Registered charity No 313908)

The Waterford School Trust, which supports Waterford Kamhlaba School in Swaziland, is delighted to be a beneficiary of Oilaid. We are enormously grateful for the support we have received from this event in the past and the funds raised have made an enormous difference to our ability to provide bursaries for exceptionally talented but financially disadvantaged African children.

Waterford is a secondary school with 500 students from over 50 countries of which 75% are from Africa. It provides an outstanding education and is considered to be a beacon of academic excellence in the region. One of its main priorities is the provision of education specifically to outstanding African children of great talent and ability but who are financially disadvantaged and who have experienced extreme hardship. Many are orphans, come from refugee camps or countries torn apart by wars. Without bursary provision they would normally be unable to realise their true potential – or in some case not even have access to any education at all. Poverty, unemployment, deprivation, violence, corruption, natural disasters such as floods and drought and now the HIV/AIDS pandemic have ravaged the continent. Africa desperately needs educated nationals who can help build a better future. Waterford is committed to helping in this process and has a strong track record in achievement. In 2006 alone there were 148 children receiving bursaries – much if it made possible through the funds raised from previous Oilaid events.

Many students, once qualified, return to re-invest their skills and expertise in their home country in Africa. “After becoming a refugee from the Congo I never wanted to go back home again. However, being at Waterford has restored my desire not only to seek back my native identity but also to contribute to my country’s reconstruction” – a quote from one such student who came from a refugee camp to the school.

The Waterford School Trust – a registered UK charity – exists to raise the necessary funding for the school to allow these able but disadvantaged young children to achieve a worthwhile education and contribute in the future to regenerating and sustaining the continent.