BARCELONA, 20 October 2026. Students on the International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme at SEK International School Catalunya met Andrew Funk, founder of Homeless Entrepreneur, on 8 October. The meeting, held in the Secondary library, gave them the chance to question prejudice and hear first-hand accounts of homelessness.
Funk went from living on the streets to helping more than 3,500 people in 21 countries. He visited the school with two participants from his initiative. The talk focused on the invisibility of people without a home and, through questions put to the students, invited them to reflect on the prejudice that surrounds homelessness.
As the conversation went on, one idea grew stronger: losing a home is not something that only happens to certain people. Life circumstances change, and anyone can find themselves in a vulnerable situation.
One of the most revealing moments came when students learned about the speakers' careers. Before becoming homeless, they had worked as sales managers for international companies, and some had run their own businesses. Funk also shared an anecdote about trying to buy a copy of La Vanguardia, because he appeared in its back-page interview section, La Contra. Even though he had the coins, he was refused, an everyday experience that showed how our perception of a person can shape the way we treat them.
Far from simply listening, the students took an active part. They asked how the speakers had met, what they did before losing their homes and how they remembered their first night sleeping rough. They also asked about insecurity and fear, and about how hard it is to ask for help. The speakers explained that they sometimes turned to friends for food or a shower a couple of times a week, while trying to balance asking for support with not becoming a burden.
Today Funk and the people who make up Homeless Entrepreneur work to help those going through difficult situations. The organisation promotes job opportunities, mentoring and support networks that help people experiencing homelessness move towards greater personal and economic independence.
The school links the visit to the approach of the Career-related Programme, which brings students closer to real-world experiences and encourages them to develop a critical and committed view of their surroundings. For the students, it was a lesson in listening before judging.
About SEK International School Catalunya
SEK International School Catalunya is a private international school in Barcelona and part of SEK Education Group, which has more than 130 years of history, more than 10 schools around the world and more than 7,000 students of more than 80 nationalities.
The school takes children from four months to 18 years and is the only school in Catalonia accredited to teach the full continuum of International Baccalaureate programmes. It offers an international boarding house, a music school affiliated with Trinity College London, the SEK International Sports Academy and the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award, with trilingual teaching in English, Spanish and Catalan. In the 2025/26 IB Diploma examinations its students averaged 32.1 points, against a world average of 30.88, and one student achieved the maximum 45 points.
What this means for families
For families in and around Barcelona, the visit shows how an IB school uses meetings with people outside the classroom to build empathy and critical thinking, skills that matter for university and working life as much as examination grades.
Families comparing schools in the area can consult the best international schools in Barcelona.
