As previously reported, students at Champlain Elementary have been lucky to connect with students in Sierra Leone and begin to grasp the differences that distinguish growing up in Canada from growing up in Africa thanks to the efforts of several parents, teachers, and the inspiring NGO work of sisters Hetty and Carolyn van Gurp.
Last week, Heather Nicholson added her experiences aboard the Freedom Schooner Amistad to the perspectives shared for the benefit of Champlain's young minds.
The Freedom Schooner Amistad is a replica of the famous La Amistad which became a cause celebre for mid-19th century Abolitionists after Sengbe Pieh led 56 Africans to revolt and successfully take control of the ship. Tricked by the ship's navigator into sailing north along the US seaboard instead of back to Africa as the captives demanded, the US Navy eventually captured the Amistad off the coast of Conneticut. The African occupants quickly found themselves at the centre of a legal battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court. Although slavery was still legal in many states, the international trade of slaves had long been outlawed and the Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the captives be set free.
In 2007-2008 the Freedom Schooner Amistad crisscrossed the Atlantic to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade in Britain (1807) and the United States (1808). Nicholson shared photos, scrapbooks and stories from her time as cook during the second leg of the Atlantic Freedom Tour, as the ship made its way from stops in the UK to Portugal, Cape Verde, the Canary Islands and down the African coast to Sierra Leone.
As with every Africa-related event this reporter has attended at the school, the students paid rapt attention as Nicholson recounted her experiences. Photos of big fish and crew members swimming in the ocean earned special appreciation from the youngsters. The display of exotic fruits from plantains to papayas was also a crowd favorite. Nicholson was surprised and pleased to see everyone gobble up their sample of curried chicken as well, perhaps a testament to the spirit of curiosity and openness that these exchanges have fostered among the school's students.
STUDENTS: To Africa aboard the Freedom Schooner Amistad
STUDENTS: To Africa aboard the Freedom Schooner Amistad
Champlain Elementary hears more firsthand stories of Sierra Leone
Geoffrey Agombar / Spectator / NovaNewsNow.com
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