Losing a match against the locals didn't spoil a trip to Ghana for TY students at St Michael's College, Dublin, writes DAIRE CASSIDY.

ONE OF THE many benefits of Transition Year in St Michael’s College, Dublin, is the opportunity to participate in the annual cultural learning trip. This trip is open to all Transition Year students and for the second time in two years, Ghana is the chosen destination.

Last year the trip proved to be extremely successful and organiser and school chaplain Oliver Doolin is confident that this year’s trip can be even more so.

Doolin says the chance to visit a country such as Ghana represents a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for students. I know that the staff and students on last year’s trip agreed.

The trip itself is an immersion project designed to enrich students with Ghanaian culture. It also aims to develop and maintain strong links with the religious order of the Holy Ghost in Africa. St Michael’s College is a Spiritan school and the students wanted to find out more about the work that the Holy Ghost order carries out in Africa.

The area of Ghana that last year’s students visited presented a positive image of Africa – not

of the poverty-stricken continent that we have come to know through the media.

According to the students, one could clearly see the benefits of aid in this area. However, Doolin and the students saw there was still a lot of work that needed to be done to provide children there with even some of the opportunities that they themselves have.

Most students really wanted the chance to see how young people lived on another continent and to experience Africa. It was a challenging and fulfilling experience for everyone involved.

As to why Ghana was chosen, the answer is simply that it was the right time for both the local community and the school to arrange a visit of this type. While in Ghana, the visiting students did more than just soak up the culture. They also took part in activities such as seed planting and gave some short lessons to the school children of the area.

The locals themselves were curious about the trip and very welcoming. The visitors had the privilege of meeting with the village council and also played (and lost!) a game of football against the local school children. Even though the annual trip is still in its early stages, Doolin feels that it will prove to be “highly beneficial for both communities . . . It presents a positive learning experience and has huge potential to grow.”

A lot of students who went on last year’s trip said that it was a life-changing experience and really opened their eyes about the developing world. Participating in lessons with the local children was incredibly rewarding and the St Michael’s boys returned very humbled and enlightened by the trip.

This year the TY students who applied and were accepted will return to the same area of Ghana visited by last year’s group. Here’s hoping that the visit will prove to be a success and that both the visiting students and host village will gain from the experience.