Students from Simcoe County are back home from Africa with stories to share.

They are returning from Kenya where they helped build a school for kids there, all while earning a high school credit.

For the students, it’s almost impossible to describe their trip to Kenya in terms that would do it justice.

“It was definitely life-changing,” says Grade 12 student Jaylene Pellow. “It was an experience I have never had before, and I don't even know how to describe it.”

Grade 11 student Dylan Fernandes calls the trip eye opening.

“It was a really eye-opening to see how their lifestyle is so hard, compared to in Canada and how much we take for granted here and they strive for there,” he says.

The group of 10 Crown wards and their leaders travelled to Kenya last month and spent almost two weeks doing work with the organization Free the Children. The trip was the part of a Grade 12 social justice course and co-op study.

“It was a really, really big leap for this particular group of kids and even to trust each other. to trust me, to trust that this was going to be such a great experience and to leave what was familiar to them was a challenge,” says teacher Kelly Larkman-Cassell. “Some of them had never been on a plane before.”

And it was a jam-packed adventure.

“It was non-stop work, fun, and sleep,” says Nancy Green with the CAS. “We pretty much just fell into bed every night.”

They helped build a school from the foundation up, learning how to pour cement and make fillings for bricks; they carried water with local mothers, filling up jugs and carrying them on their backs; and even took part in local traditions, sharing their own talents and gifts.

“We had to fill up all these jugs and then carry them on our back and there was a rope that went across our forehead and that was quite interesting and it was really heavy,” says Grade 11 student Santana Jackson

Teacher Kelly Larkman-Cassell says the trip has changed the students.

“I have seen a huge difference in them, they've developed leadership skills, they've developed confidence in themselves, and in their own abilities. I think they see themselves differently now as well.”

To that, Fernandes says: “I want to help more after seeing what they've been going through and how much help they need. I would do it again, tomorrow if I could.”

To finish up the course, the students will be making presentations about their experience abroad. Organizers say they hope to do another trip just like this one in the next few years.