Hi, my name is Alex, I’m 16 years old, and I’m really proud to have been selected to take part in the Ardscoil Rís Zambia Immersion Project 2026. I’m setting up this GoFundMe to help raise money so I can take part in this amazing opportunity. In March 2026, I’ll be travelling with a group of students and teachers from Ardscoil Rís to Zambia for just over two weeks. During this time, we’ll be working with local communities, schools, and projects that support children and families living in poverty. This is something I’m really passionate about because I want to experience what life is like for people in another part of the world and do something meaningful to help. It’s a chance to step outside my comfort zone, learn new things, and give back to others who don’t have the same opportunities we do at home. I know it will be a challenging but life-changing experience. The money I raise will go towards the cost of travel and accommodation, but it will also directly help the children and communities we’ll be working with. As part of the trip, we’ll be bringing supplies and donations to schools and centres in Zambia, so every bit of support will make a real difference not just to me, but to the people we’ll meet and help while we’re there. I’d be so grateful for any donation, big or small, to help make this trip possible and to support the incredible work being done in Zambia. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story and for your kindness and support. — Alex

Ardscoil Rís

Zambia Immersion Project 2026

March 20th - April 8th

What we from Ardscoil Ris do for a brief two-and-a-half weeks is a privileged immersion in the lives of the people they work with and with the people of Zambia. This experience would never be possible without the support of the students, parents, staff, Board of Management and the wider community. With the consent of school management and the Board of Management, we will be returning to Zambia in March 2026. The mainstay of our fundraising has always been the soccer blitz, backpacking and churchgate collections. Through the years of travelling to Zambia, alongside the three methods mentioned, a wide variety of fundraisers have been employed such as race nights, coffee mornings, cake sales, copper collections, trad music sessions, GAA skills and coaching week and concerts just to mention a few.

Since 2003 Ardscoil Ris has brought 86 students and 19 teachers to Zambia.

Brief History

In May 2002 a meeting was organised by the Christian Brothers to finalise details for a trip to Zambia in June of that year. Present at the meeting were about twenty five other teachers from different Christian Brother schools around the country. This was to be the first trip of its kind.

The idea being that we would all go to different locations in Zambia to explore the possibility of bringing senior students the following year for approximately 2 weeks, to be part of the Zambian Immersion Project. The hope was that this might happen in the school every two or three years and give the students a first-hand experience of a developing country and the work that the various religious congregations are involved in, including the Christian Brothers.

Mongu was and still is the focal point of our project, chosen because Br. J.Q. Harney, the last Christian Brother Principal of Ardscoil Ris (1986 to 1991), retired to work there until his death in

2006. When the Zambian Immersion Project was promoted by the Brothers, Ardscoil Ris already had a natural link with Mong through Br. Harney. Ironically, much of our time in Zambia, then and now, has been with members of different orders of nuns and only peripherally with the Brothers. The main reason for this is the Brothers were often involved in personal projects and the work the nuns were doing proved to be a better fit and more hands-on for young teenagers coming out from Ireland.

Our time in Zambia is divided up among the different orders and getting involved in the variety of work that the nuns are doing. Through their work, the Ardscoil Ris lads get a broad exposure to all the different types of projects that are being carried out and get a real immersion in the everyday life of the missions and the people of Zambia.

Mongu/Limulunga (approximately 9 hrs west of Lusaka)

Much of our time in Zambia will be spent in Mongu and in Limulunga, a small village 12 km north of Mongu and in Senenga, a town 2hrs south of Mongu. In Mong we will be with Sr.

Cathy Crawford of the Presentation Sisters. Cathy runs a Cheshire Home for disabled children.

While there the students will be helping out with some basic physiotherapy exercises under the supervision of a qualified physiotherapist, assisting with basic primary school education classes and playing with the children. Most evenings will also be spent in the company of the children in the Cheshire Home.

In Limilunga the Holy Spirit Sisters run a small primary school for children from age 4 to 7 all of whom come from very poor backgrounds. While there the students will be helping with some of the classes and will visit some of the homes and families that the children come from. As in Mongu, playing with and getting to know the children will be an important part of the experience.

Up until four months ago this school was run by Sr. Peggy O'Flaherty. Unfortunately Peggy is currently being treated for cancer and is unlikely to return to Zambia.

Also in Limilunga, through Br. Francis Hall of the Christian Brothers, we will be meeting students of a similar age to the Ardscoil Ris lads and hope to spend a day in their local government run secondary school. This will allow our lads to get to know some of the school population on a personal level and to shadow them, experiencing an ordinary school day in Zambia.

Another order that we engage with in Mong is the Comboni's. Our current contact with the Comboni's is Sr. Omaira. Originally from Colombia, Sr. Omaira takes a particular interest in the teenagers and has organised youth clubs and vocational training programmes. We will expect, as in previous years, to play a soccer match against the local youth club and meet its members.

While based in Mongu our accommodation will be in a secure compound run by the local parish.

The lads, sharing two or three to a room, will be in chalet type accommodation which are basic, clean and adequate. We get our own breakfast and lunch while evening dinner will be made for us. The compound is about 15 minutes walk from the Chesire Home where the lads will walk to most evenings.

Senanga (approx. 2 hrs south of Mongu)

In Senenga through Br.Francis and with the help of Irish government aid and Ardscoil Ris money, a training farm has been established. This was set up to educate local farmers on new techniques of farming, animal husbandry and a variety of crop cultivation. We hope to spend two days on this farm helping out with whatever is going on at the time.

Livingstone (approximately 9 hrs south of Senenga)

The last weekend will be in Livingstone, visiting the Victoria Falls and a safari in Chobe in neighbouring Botswana. The visit to the Victoria Falls and the safari will be paid for separately by all those travelling and not out of the Zambian fund.

On Return

When the students return, presentations of the experience will be given to all the classes, staff, Board of Management and often different parish groups. It is impossible to fully measure and quantify the value of the immersion experience but there is no doubt that the project has a very positive and often life-changing effect on the students who travel but also on the entire Ardscoil Ris community. The consciousness that it creates of the challenges facing people in Zambia and as an international expression of the ethos of the school the Zambian Immersion Project is of considerable significance.