Dauntsey’s School has announced that the 2015 Richard Sandbrook Award will be shared between two entrants:

Old Dauntseian Alexandra Halliday is currently studying Theology at St Peter’s College, Oxford.  Her award will finance travel costs to a rural health project in Jamkhed, India.  Alexandra will participate in a programme run by Interserve, a Christian organisation which connects volunteers from around the world to take part in cross-cultural development projects.  She will spend two weeks in London, working alongside a local doctor and six weeks in Jamkhed.  During her time in India, she will shadow a community health worker and midwife.  She will then spend time with an adolescent girls’ project which provides vital health and social education.  She will also volunteer at the ‘Joyful Learning Pre-school’, where students are given two healthy meals a day and are educated in hygiene, health, reading and creativity in both Marathi and English.   

Old Dauntseian Farahnaz Afaq is currently studying at Wofford College in the USA.  Her award will contribute to the set up and running of the Farah Kindergarten in her home country of Afghanistan.  This project will provide access to education for 20 children from low-income families.  Farah has developed a daily schedule, which will include basic topics such as learning the alphabet, counting, stories and singing.  The Kindergarten will create job opportunities for teachers, a headmistress, cleaners, guards and cooks and will help the children’s parents, especially single mothers, to work without worrying about the safety of their children.

The Sandbrook Award was established by the Old Dauntseians Association in 2009, to commemorate the work of former pupil Richard Sandbrook, OBE (1946-2005) who was the co-founder of Friends of the Earth.

The Award is open to current sixth form pupils at Dauntsey’s and Old Dauntseians aged 19-25. It is aimed at anyone who is planning a trip, project or research which promotes sustainable development in some shape or form. Applications may involve existing or new projects, study or research, and can be anywhere in the world regarding any area of sustainable development. 

James O’Hanlon, who oversees the Award at Dauntsey’s School said:

“We are immensely proud to count Richard Sandbrook as one of our former pupils and the continuing interest in this Award is a tribute to his lasting legacy.  This year we have shared the award between two very different projects.

“The Sandbrook family and the selection committee felt the winning entries had the greatest potential to make a lasting legacy in terms of sustainability, the ethos that lies at the centre of the award.  The committee also commented on the extremely high standard of applications received this year and is encouraged to see so many Old Dauntseians keen to be involved in such worthwhile projects.”

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