Global Neighbours

Courageous Advocacy

 

Being a good global neighbour is more than just feeling sorry for people who are suffering from misfortune - it is about making a difference to their lives. One way this can be done is through courageous advocacy. The children have been developing their advocacy skills by directly engaging with decision-makers across a range of issues.

Read below the replies that we have received from the following:

• Tesco were contacted about the dangers of smoking
• Hampshire County Council were written to about the danger to animals of people feeding the New Forest animals
• Two letters were written to the Prime Minister, Theresa May: one about deforestation and renewable energy, and the other about pollution.

Cake Sale in aid of protecting orang-utans

 

Some of our Year 5 children have raised £180 from their cake sale. This money will go towards helping those orang-utans whose habitat is threatened by deforestation caused by the need to produce palm oil. This follows on from the presentation they did to the school about how we can all make a difference by reducing the amount of products we buy that contain palm oil.

 

The School Council have been thinking about lots of ways to encourage children throughout the school to be active Global Neighbours. The Council looked at different schemes for collecting unwanted clothes and decided that the Salvation Army's 'Recycle with Michael' was an ideal charity to support. Members of the School Council led a whole school collective worship to kick-start the project. See below for their Power Point.

Christmas Service - The Gift To Unite Mankind - December 2018

 

This year's Christmas Service considered what we can learn about being good Global Neighbours from the Christmas Service. We thought about how the last innkeeper was willing to help others in need when it might have been easier to ignore rather than to help, and how the three men from the East show us how to follow God's Word to oppose cruelty, unfairness and selfishness by being courageous in our advocacy of justice and equality, just as Jesus also did throughout his life on Earth.

 

The School Council also decided that the collection from the Christmas Service should go to the World Wildlife Fund.

 

Read below the Christmas Prayers that the children wrote.

As a school, we have always tried to promote an ‘international mindedness’, encouraging children to reflect on our place in the world. By taking part in the Global Neighbours scheme run by Christian Aid, we want to help everyone in our school family become courageous advocates for the common good, locally and globally and in doing so, encourage a deeper understanding of global injustice and how we can all become active global citizens.

In our Harvest Service, we shared how Christian Aid has helped lots of people around the world.

Children at St Luke's decided that the collection of £187.72 from the Harvest Service should go towards a project supported by Christian Aid: helping crab farmers in Bangladesh.

In July 2018, the School Council planned and led a whole school Collective Worship encouraging us all to take responsibility for global issues, inspiring us to take action to help others. They told us all about the Christian Aid Global Neighbours Scheme. Their powerpoint is below.