Luanda International School CAS Projects aim for sustainability

This year electricity, water, and school supplies for the Barra do Kwanza community are the targets for the LIS Year 12 students' CAS projects.

Back in August 2022, Year 12 students started their CAS projects with a two-day Core Retreat at Kwanza Lodge. This was the start of their CAS journey. Visiting and interviewing the community and interacting with them allowed the students to understand how people from smaller villages live and their daily struggles.

“Year 12 is a very strong and motivated group. The action research retreat allowed students to experience and see with their own eyes the issues the community faces, which helped a lot to come to this point of designing solutions to support the community”, states Susana Pinheiro, CAS Coordinator.

Since then, the students have been investigating and planning the projects they want to implement with the resources they might have access to improve these people's lives. Small things matter and they are quite aware of it now.

There are a few projects to address. A group of students is working on two electricity projects by establishing an electrical supply at the school and the houses that are further from the lodge (one of the few places with it). One way might be to bring electricity via cable and the other by solar power energy. This is a sustainable way of providing electricity, one that would allow the community to be self-sufficient. Another group is evaluating the possibility of creating a water filter to purify water and alternative ways to bring water to the community.

The renovation of the school and increased supplies is also on the table. A small building used for educating children in the village needs more than tables and chairs to help students. With this in mind, LIS students intend to buy boards for classrooms and create a panel with educational content like the alphabet and numbers to attach to the wall to last longer. Our students are currently working with other teachers (design, sciences, etc.) and non-profitable organisations to create synergies to support their process of implementation.

On February 24th, there will be a solidarity concert with an orchestra coming to LIS to raise funds for the projects. With the presence of staff and parents, it is expected to be an exchange of knowledge and resources to make these projects a reality by the end of this academic year.