Page 15 - Sphere No.11 (Apr 2004)

target — and its lucrative designation.
Since then, the comprehensive school has
transformed an old school block into state-
of-the-art language laboratories, teaching
classes in French, German, Spanish, Dutch
and Mandarin to some 1,150 pupils.
Port of Felixstowe (PFL) has long-standing
connections with Orwell High School.Many
employees were former students or
currently have their own children studying
there. It was therefore natural that
PFL came out in support of the school’s bid
to achieve “Technology College” status —
a move that will see the school receive
£650,000 government funding over four
years.The money will enable the future col-
lege to concentrate on teaching technology,
IT, science and mathematics. Once it
has gained “Technology College” status,
Orwell will develop closer links with the Port
to give students a clearer picture of the career
opportunities available to them locally.
The college will also provide resources
and teaching assistance to other schools
in Felixstowe.
Back in 2001, PFL answered a call
from the local Trimley St. Martin Primary
School to fund a new Information
Communication Technology room,
equipped with 16 networked computers,
each with Internet access.
A long-term supporter of community pro-
jects for the disadvantaged, PFL also backs
TheWoolverstone Project, a local charity that
has introduced thousands of disabled people
of all ages to the joy of sailing. PFL sponsors
one of the boats and helps pay for teams to
compete in international championships for
the disabled.
Across the Channel, staff at Europe
Container Terminals (ECT) each year enter
the world’s longest non-stop relay race, the
gruelling 530-km “Roparun” from
Rotterdam to Paris, which raises funds for
cancer charities.
ALLEVIATING HARDSHIP
When Santa Fe City in Argentina suffered
its worst flooding for 500 years in May
2003, with the disaster leaving 25,000
homes under water, staff at Buenos Aires
Container Terminal (BACTSSA) responded
by contributing blankets, medicine, clothes,
and food.
The BACTSSA staff also sponsor “The
Sun of Bernal” sports and social club, which
represents a beacon of hope for children in
desperate need, providing basic needs as
well as sports facilities.
Following a train disaster in Tanzania in
June 2002 that claimed 300 lives, staff at
Tanzania International Container Terminal
Services (TICTS) donated much-needed
medical supplies.The port was also happy to
help a deserving school in need of desks for
pupils, as well as providing a much-needed
water well in a nearby district.
The 250 TICTS T-shirts donated to
Nunge Camp for the disabled in Dar es
Salaam may sound like a humble contribu-
tion, but they were very gratefully received.
A small gesture such as this goes a long
way in helping to communicate HPH’s
simple mission — to assist the needy and
help make the world a better place
for everybody.
S PHERE
13
“Staff have together
contributed tens of
thousands of dollars to
help finance
charitable work”