Saint Paul’s was honoured to host a special visit from representatives of CAFOD and their partners from Colombia, offering our students a unique and inspiring learning experience.
Students from the Year 10 Geography class, along with members of the Saint Paul’s SVP group, had the privilege of meeting visitors from SIEMBRA, a Colombian organisation dedicated to supporting human rights and environmental defenders. Among the guests were two passionate advocates working to protect the Atrato River, a vital waterway in Colombia’s Pacific rainforest.
Part of the session was conducted in Spanish, with live English interpretation, allowing students to engage with the speakers’ heartfelt stories and insights. The visitors shared their experiences defending the Atrato River, which flows through one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth and is essential to the livelihoods of Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities.
Students learned about the environmental challenges facing the region, including illegal mining, deforestation, and ongoing conflict. They also explored the broader human rights issues connected to environmental protection and the remarkable efforts that led to the legal recognition of the Atrato River as a rights-bearing entity.
This visit not only deepened students’ understanding of global environmental and social justice issues but also highlighted the courage and resilience of those working tirelessly to protect our planet and its people.
The topics discussed will support the Geography topic of Ecosystems and the language opportunities will help those students studying Spanish.
Following the visit, Kathryn Keenan from CAFOD commented: “We would like to thank the students for their time, attention and questions. They were a lovely group of young people and a credit to St Paul’s. Our Colombian visitors really enjoyed meeting and speaking with you all.
Thank you for showing us the Big Lent Walk map before we left. It was a brilliant way to end the visit. The River Guardians were really moved by the fundraising efforts of the school community.”