Tuesday, November 5, 2013

My Experience at Pestalozzi's UK IB Program

Bwalya Kasanda.
The beginning of this academic year has been an awesome experience adorned by dynamism. This year, Pestalozzi widened its scope to include an eighth country (Bhutan) to its diverse community for its International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program at Sussex Coast College in Hastings, UK. The three students from Bhutan, Dawa, Thinley and Lungten are full of humility and humour. 

In addition to the three, we have two beautiful girls from Nepal, two friendly boys from Tibet, three students from India, another three from Belize, two from Zimbabwe, two from Uganda and three from Zambia. This adds up to twenty first year students. We should have had 21 initially, but unfortunately one student decided to forfeit the scholarship. At the moment we are still waiting for one of our Ugandan students who is still waiting for his visa.

I am one of the three Zambian first year students. My name is Bwalya Theresa Kasanda and I am the new Student Programme Intern. I am fascinated by the Pestalozzi principles of using the head, heart and hands and I consider it a great privilege to be here. I have my aspirations and I have my inspirations. I come from a developing country that faces many economic and social difficulties in which I have been raised. These issues have challenged me by forcing me to realise my potential. Indeed they have acted as harsh but great inspirations to me. Someday, hopefully in the near future, I want to pursue a degree in either medicine or economics. I want to develop myself so that I can return to my home country and help those who are in need there.

It is amazing to discover that there are many if not all of my fellow students here at Pestalozzi who share a background like mine and have similar ambitions, or at the very least similar motives of going back to help the needy in their home countries. And that is the interesting part about Pestalozzi, the mere fact that we are so alike, yet so unalike. By this I mean, though with similar goals, this multicultural environment has much to teach and certainly much to yield. The school is organised in a manner that every student has the opportunity to express his or her individuality fully, and therefore stand out as unique. Even the smallest difference is cherished by everyone.


Despite the fact that there were delays in arrivals for many students, everyone with the help of everyone else seems to have settled in quite well. The second years have been very welcoming by being such great mentors, and all the staff members have been a great pillar. Before opening the year at college, the first years had an opportunity toenjoy being in England. They had various trips which included going to London and other places like the Camber Sands. The enthused and high spirited youths seemed to love just about everything! College began on a good note, and the second year students seem to always burry themselves in stacks of books. They seem to be the busiest students at Pestalozzi as they have so many assignments, workshops and exams. They just recently sat for their SAT exams. We wish them all the best!

At the moment, everybody seems to be enjoying the relaxation that comes with half-term, but secretly preparing for many events that are coming up such as Halloween and the Indian Cultural Evening.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for you immeasurable support!

Yours sincerely,

Bwalya Kasanda
Student Programme Intern
KF Graduate '11

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for this great blog post, Bwalya. We're glad you're enjoying your time at Pestalozzi so far!

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