Five teachers from schools in Watford and Bushey have returned from a fact finding trip to Rwanda.

Sue Auld, John O’Callaghan and Ian Petrie, from St Michael’s Catholic High School in Garston, were accompanied by Rita Cooper, headteacher of Sacred Heart Primary School in Bushey, and Evelyn Ward, headteacher of Holy Rood Primary School in Watford, spent a week visiting schools and health centres.

They were there to assess the progress of various projects that have been sponsored by the three schools.

Infamous for the genocide in 1994, which left over a million people dead, Rwanda has faced an uphill struggle to heal the wounds and divisions that the atrocities left behind, as well as combating the effects of the HIV epidemic that has afflicted much of sub-saharan Africa over the last 25 years.

In 2004, John Murphy, headteacher of St Michael’s, visited Rwanda and began a partnership between the school and a small health centre in the village of Mubuga, in western Rwanda.

Six years on, with several local primary schools coming on board, the visit was an opportunity to check on the progress of the partnership, and to identify future projects.

For Ian Petrie, returning to Rwanda after five years, the difference was tangible.

“I had expected progress,” he said, “but I was amazed by just how far things have come. The health centre is now a thriving complex, including a brand new centre for the testing and treatment of those with HIV, which was paid for by the students of St Michael's.”

As a result of government policies, as well as the money students have raised in the past six years, the health centre is beginning to win the battle against HIV.

Infection rates are now lower than the national average, there is a plentiful supply of medication, and very few new cases of HIV are reported.

Meanwhile, the teachers had an opportunity to teach some lessons in the local primary school.

“Facilities are obviously much more basic than what we are used to,” said Evelyn Ward, “but the students’ hunger to learn was obvious.”

In fact, such is the desire for education in Rwanda that many schools operate a ‘double shift’ system, with a cohort of students attending in the morning, and a second group in the afternoon.

For Rita Cooper, a visit to St Joseph’s Primary School in Cyinama laid the foundations for a new partnership with students of Sacred Heart, which was given a head start with the donation of £5,000 to pay for essential rebuilding work.

“Our students worked hard to raise the money,” said Rita, “and I am delighted to see it go towards giving students the opportunity to build a better life for themselves through education.”

The group also visited Ruenzi in the south of the country, where St Michael’s students recently paid for the construction of three ‘halfway houses’ for teenage orphans.

Here, as was the case everywhere they went, the group were greeted by gifts, speeches, dances and messages for the students in Watford.

It was also in Ruenzi that the group identified the next phase of the partnership – another health centre.

“We found that the clinic in Ruenzi is suffering the same problems that we were able to solve in Mubuga,” said John O’Callaghan, “and we’ve realised that the next stage of our partnership should be focussed here.”

For Sue Auld, the visit had a powerful effect.

“I had heard a lot about Rwanda through St Michael’s, but to actually see it for myself was a huge privilege. The people were so warm and welcoming, and all they wanted to do was tell us how grateful they were. We made sure that they knew that it wasn’t the five of us who had raised the money, but the students and families of all our schools. For the people of Rwanda, Watford seems like heaven on earth.”