The article below chronicles a school visit to the Commonwealth Secretariat in London in July 2013. I willingly signed on to participate – I share the experience below. The feature was penned by a colleague at the Secretariat.
London– Commonwealth staff gave local school children a showcase of what it means to be part of the Commonwealth family, when they visited Marlborough House this month and met members of staff from across the Secretariat.
The Communications and Public Affairs Division (CPAD) organised a packed schedule for pupils from Coopers’ Company and Coborn School and Harold Court School. The children, aged between 10 and 13, were invited to the Commonwealth Secretariat after winning a Commonwealth-themed design and quiz competition with the London Borough of Havering.
Arriving at 11am, the group were first shown a sneak peek of the Commonwealth’s work with a video in the Blenheim, before settling on the lawn of Marlborough House garden for refreshments.
Cheryl Rebeiro from FMS and Hilary McEwan from the Library offered teachers and children a tour of the garden, treating them to tales from the pet cemetery and a quiz on Marlborough House garden’s flags.
The rest of the morning’s activities took place in the main conference room. Each pupil took a seat in front of one of the Commonwealth country’s flags, and studied the maps for more information about their designated country.
Deputy Director of CPAD Victoria Holdsworth’s presentation on the “Commonwealth club” encouraged participation from the pupils, who were keen to share their newfound knowledge of the 54 countries.
CPAD invited colleagues from across the Secretariat to share their experiences with the group and teach the children about their countries.
Iana Seales from CPAD shared what it is like to be an intern for the Commonwealth and the opportunities her role has given her. Iana quizzed the children on her home country of Guyana, their answers proving to be correct each time.
When Iana offered to answer any of the children’s questions, one of the pupils raised his hand to find out how he could work at the Secretariat. Iana explained how she had secured the internship.
Lucie Shigikile from FMIS brought children, teachers and colleagues out onto the Marlborough House lawn for a lively lesson in Swahili song. The children learnt how to sing a Swahili primary school song, ‘Ukuti’ (The Leaf), which is about the leaves of a coconut tree. The trees are found mostly in the coastal parts of Tanzania near beaches, where Lucie spent most of her childhood.
Hirantha Iddamalgoda from ITS taught the pupils about Sri Lanka, and talked about working at the Secretariat. Omnea Said from the Youth Affairs Division told the group about the Commonwealth work experience opportunities available to young people. Omnea presented facts from Tonga wearing a ta’ovala – traditional Tongan dress, a mat wrapped around the waist – which especially piqued the pupils’ curiosity.
The children left Marlborough House with a changed perception of the Commonwealth. At the start of the day, when asked what they expected to find at Marlborough House, answers from the pupils included: “lots of expensive things” and “old people”. When asked what they had learnt about the Commonwealth on their way out, children responded with: “It does a lot to help lots of people”.
Some 13 staff helped to make the visit a success. Feedback from colleagues after the visit included: “It was a great day and am sorry that I had to leave – I was so enjoying it!! Am glad to know that this was the first of hopefully many more visits from young people in this country” and “Not just the kids who were energised by it. I was too. It was really great hearing their responses to each of the different events.”
for de record 
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