Over Spring Break in April 2023, twenty-one high school students traveled to Botswana together with Ms. Marta Vernet (Head of Community Service), Mr. Richard Petersen (HS Assistant Principal), and Mr. Manolo Garbayo from Win-Win Connection, a local organization that connects companies to social projects.

The nine-day service trip allowed ASB students to understand better the challenges faced by refugees and displaced communities. In addition to equipping a local refugee primary school with a Lego Lab and training, the cohort also successfully launched a sustainable Arts and Crafts educational program, approved and supported by the local government, which will continue to empower the youths at Dukwi Refugee Camp. An additional Entrepreneurial course is planned to further empower the refugee youth with entrepreneurial skills. The group also returned from Botswana with artwork made by the local refugees, which was sold at our annual RefugArt 2023 fundraising event.

We hope this experience inspires our students to continue to engage in service and advocacy work in the future and that they will continue to find ways to serve their community and make a positive impact in the world.

A note of acknowledgment to ASB families who donated laptops to the Botswana Refugee Camp, especially to GP Pharm (Bastian family) for their generous donation of 7 laptops. Our ASB students taught the students and teachers about computer and robot use which was a rewarding experience for all involved.