Spain is situated in southern Europe, with borders shared with Portugal and France. The Mediterranean Sea laps onto the south and eastern shores, whilst in the west enjoy the Atlantic Ocean.
The Balearic and Canary Islands are also important territories of Spain, which covers an area of 504,030 square kilometres and is the second largest of all the European countries.
Due to its location Spain has been subject to many different influences since prehistoric times. In the 8th century the Moors ruled the vast majority of the country, leaving behind its beautiful architecture in places such as Cordoba and the Alhambra palace in Granada.
Spain is a mountainous country, with impressive plateaus and mountain chains. After the Pyrenees, the main mountain ranges are the Cordillera Cantábrica, Sistema Ibérico, Sistema Central, Montes de Toledo, Sierra Morena and the Sistema Penibético whose highest peak, the 3,478 m high Mulhacén, located in Sierra Nevada.
There are several major rivers in Spain such as the Tagus, the Ebro, the Duero, the Guadiana and the Guadalquivir. Alluvial plains are found along the coast, the largest of which is that of the Guadalquivir in Andalusia the home base of The Kindred Project.
| Capital: Madrid Population: 46.030.109 Official Language: Spanish Religion: Roman Catholic 73% Literacy rate: 98.5% | Mayor Employment: Tourism worth 4 billion Euros GDP: per capita $30.233 Government: Elected president Currency: Euro King: Juan Carlos I |
Residential Home for the Elderly
CAS students regularly visit the Old peoples home in San Enrique. The focus of the visits are to provide our students with an opportunity to develop work in the community skills and to contribute to our local community in a very important way.
"This was the first time I attended the Old People's Home. It was a new experience for me, so at first I felt quite nervous and did not know how to act with the people there. However, by watching the rest of the group members, I slowly got more confident and it became easier to speak with the people. The stories and experiences they all had to share were great to listen to, especially coming from a different perspective than mine. I am looking forward to returning to the Old People's Home, and I feel it will become easier as time progresses to interact with the people and make it a good experience for them as well as for myself. This opportunity has given me the chance to see something really new, and I am glad I can attend because my grandmother recently moved to a home for the elderly in Scotland, and I can get an idea of what her life is like."
"For many weeks now, 6 friends and I have been visiting the old people's home in San Enrique together with Mrs. O'Farrell. It's been a very special experience which I'm sure none of us D1 students will forget. I must say that the first time we went, many weeks ago, it was a bit awkward as we didn't know what we were meant to do or what was expected from us. The fact that the people there weren’t too excited about us being there made it an even more strange situation. However it barely took us a few minutes to get to interact with them and talk to us. In fact, in a matter of half an hour we were all sitting beside an old man or woman who was now narrating the interesting and certainly overwhelming story of their lives. "
"Personally I had to pick an afternoon as the most productive one, in which we got to interact with them the most, I'd choose the CAS lesson of Tuesday the 18th of January. During this lesson, we, once again, went to visit the elderly home, however this time we decided to do something different and special so we a game of "Bingo "with us. At first they didn't seem too excited about the idea of playing bingo, however as we played along more and more people joined us and we ended up having a lot of fun. Playing bingo with them turned out to be a terrific idea. And it proved that old people aren't as boring as some think, in fact we have had a lot of fun with them and they have proven to be extremely caring and in need of love."
"For the past weeks we have being going to the old peoples home on Tuesday afternoons to talk and interact with them.
When we do this it is really amazing seeing how they all come to life, enjoying themselves and laughing instead of sitting there watching TV. Also we carry out activities with them such as card games which gets them thinking.
Today when we had to leave the woman was rather upset as she said the time had flown by. It is at times like these that I realise the importance of what we are doing.
Casa Abril
Casa Abril is a shelter for children under the age of 18 who have been abandoned or mistreated.
These children have all suffered and gone through many unpleasant experiences and they urgently need a place where they can live a normal life.
Casa Abril is that place, it is a home where they try to help boys and girls to sort out their problems so that they can be reunited with their parents or sometimes to find new families.
The Kindred Project,with students and staff from Sotogrande International School have been supporting Casa Abril for many years; some of our fundraising activities really make a difference in these children’s lives. We send them presents and take them to the cinema and McDonalds at Christmas; we have bought them garden furniture and toys to make their summer holidays more fun and also sent the children to summer camp.
Over the years we have provided many amenities for their home, as well as the clothes and equipment which are constantly needed for small children and teenagers.
The staff at Casa Abril come to school every year to talk to Sotogrande primary students, explaining some of the difficulties that others, in our local community, face. They are always happy to meet our students to thank them personally for the work they do. They usually bring cards and pictures from the children although they are not allowed to show their photographs for legal reasons.
Thank you to all the students of Sotogrande International School for the fantastic work you do which is appreciated near and far.