AN ALUMNA of Luckley House will return to the school to tell the story of her mission to help survivors of genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda rebuild their lives, regain trust in humanity, and ensure that the promise, ‘never again,’ becomes a reality.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the talk which will be given by Samantha Hunt MBE, chair of Survivors Fund (SURF).
Luckley House School, an independent senior school for boys and girls aged 11 to 18, hosts lectures of interest to the community from time-to-time, and this month they host Samantha as she speaks about her Reaching Rwanda initiative, and how it is re-generating two Rwandan villages and helping 1000s of survivors live again.
Samantha is Sandhurst School’s deputy headteacher, head of safeguarding at Corvus Learning Trust, chair of the Survivors Fund (SURF) and an expert on the Holocaust and genocide.
She has been recognised through national teaching and local charitable awards, is a past winner of the Secondary School Teacher of the Year award and 2003 winner of the Anne Frank Inspirational Teacher of the Year award.
Sue Ryder recognised her as a Woman of Achievement, she has been a Pride of Bracknell winner, and was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the University of Winchester.
As an academic advisor for Remembering Srebrenica she has paid tribute to the victims of genocide in Bosnia, where close to 100,000 civilians were killed, and since 2008, with the support of the Survivors Fund, her Reaching Rwanda initiative has raised close to £300,000.
This has funded the building of two villages for Rwandan genocide survivors, financed more than 40 local businesses and employed 120 survivors, paying for two water pumps to provide 3,000 people with drinking water and livestock to help feed 50 orphan-headed households.
Samantha opened and runs a free education centre for vulnerable children and orphans called Philly’s Place, and has just completed and opened a bigger centre that will provide a free education for over 1,000 children.
Her Luckley Lectures talk: Reaching Rwanda, will take place in the Whitty Theatre, Luckley House School, on Wednesday, September 11.
Doors open at 6pm, with tickets available for £5.
All proceeds from ticket sales will go to Reaching Rwanda.
For tickets and information, visit: www.ticketsource.co.uk and search for The Whitty Theatre, and www.luckleyhouseschool.org
