‘Meaningful learning’ inspires charitable drive at St Joseph’s

Pupils of St Joseph’s Lower Primary recently held a Christmas raffle with part of the funds going to Action4Schools.

Jimmy Bruzon from Action4Schools visited St Joseph’s Lower Primary school in October. He, together with teacher Monica Piri, spoke to the children in Year 1 and Year 2.

He explained about his charity and told them about schools in Sierra Leone. He explained how the children do not have access to clean water and he told them that they had to walk for many miles every day just to collect some water.

“The children immediately wanted to help and suggested things like buying water and sending it directly to the village. However, when they were told that this was not practical the teachers encouraged them to come up with another way and together they thought that fundraising would be the best way to help,” said a spokesperson for the school.

“The children had listened to the talk intently and were very concerned about this issue. This was not an isolated lesson as the children had completed a whole project on water. They had visited the local water tanks, had special visitors into school from Nautilus and Aqua Gib, so they realised how fortunate they were to have access to fresh clean water.”

“The Year 2 children desperately wanted to help the children in Sierra Leone.”

“They wrote excellent letters to Mrs Benzecry, their head teacher, and explained the problem.”

However the school had already chosen the charities that it would be supporting this term. That said, inspired by the letters Mrs Benzecry felt that something needed to be done to help the children in Sierra Leone. It was decided that the school would fundraise to collect money to give to the charity. As a result it held a Christmas raffle and part of the funds were given to Action4Schools.

“Making learning relevant and real for the children ensures it becomes a lot more meaningful,” said the spokesperson.

“Jimmy Bruzon coming in and showing the pupils real pictures and videos of the outside world helps to take learning to the next level.”

“It has been really fun for the children. They have enjoyed their project and what is important is that they realise the value behind giving to others, especially at this time of the year.”

“The children feel proud that despite their age they have made a huge difference to so many people’s lives. It showed the children that even though they are only 5 or 6 years old they can really make a difference,” they added.