Barns Green pupils selling crafts in English-Kenyan cooperative

Muntham House School (MHS) has teamed up with Lumuli School, Kenya to create wooden bird boxes, woven baskets and straw hats as part of a collaborative international project.

The Global Village Cooperative gives the Social Emotional and Social Difficulties schoolchildren ‘a sense of belonging’, said a teacher at MHS

Michelle Dewsall, 38, the main facilitator for the student-run initiative, said: “It gives them a sense of belonging within their own community and within the wider global context.”

One ‘outstanding’ year 11 has been thanked for his dedication to the project.

Harvey Adams, the chair of the project’s student-core, was recently awarded Employee of the Month, said Ms Dewsall.

He was an ‘fantastic advocate’ for MHS during a school visit to Lumuli School this January, and has since taken on a number of tasks from chairing meetings, writing minutes and thanking members of the community for their support.

“He’s like my right-hand man, I couldn’t do it without him,” said Ms Dewsall.

The business will share the profits equally between the schools.

Staff and pupils at the schools have been visiting each other for five years.

She added: “The experience is so inspiring and life-changing that the staff and pupils have dedicated themselves to maintaining the partnership.”

The pupils’ crafts sale starts at 11am.