Green Commitee
|
Visit to Lusaka, July 2011
Congratluations to the teachers and students from St Mary's Secondary School, Baldoyle on their highly successful visit to Mary Aikenhead Open Community School, Lusaka, Zambia. Many thanks to Pauline Griffin, Green School Coordinator, for the following report and photos (to follow). A group of five students, (Ericka Andrews, Samantha Murphy, Aisling Penrose, Louise McAteer, Daria Wolska), and two teachers from St Mary's Secondary School, Pauline Griffin and Sue Tully, have just returned from a two week visit to Mary Aikenhead Open Community School, Lusaka, Zambia. They were accompanied by Maureen O Sullivan, TD and Kate O’ Neill who are both former teachers in St. Mary’s. |
|
Zambia Trip, JULY 2011
Fundraising and Fifth Green Flag
St. Mary’s Secondary School has been fund raising for the past two years to help support the teaching of girl street children in the Mary Aikenhead Open Community School, Lusaka, Zambia. The fundraising formed part of the efforts towards the fifth an Taisce Green Flag for European and global citizenship. St. Mary's Secondary School supported this sister of charity school in Zambia by fundraising €18,000 over two years. The fundraising included cake sales, marathons, sponsored walks, non-uniform days, Halloween parties, fun quizzes, variety shows, church collections, fun bingo's, carol singing, raffles and talent competitions. The money has been used to put a new floor in the computer room, furnishing the Home Economics room and science equipment and helping to pay the teacher’s salaries.
Arrival in Lusaka
The group arrived in Lusaka Airport on 30th June following a ten hour flight from London. They were met by the Principal of the Mary Aikenhead School, Sr. Mary Roche, who drove them in her truck to the convent for tea. They were then taken to a hostel which would be their home for the next two weeks. Living conditions were very basic with cold showers and draughty doors and windows. The next day we travelled by local bus to the Mary Aikenhead school. The buses were very old mini buses and were packed to capacity. The currency in Zambia is kwatcha with 6000 kwatcha equivalent to €1. The fare was 3000kw
Visit to Victoria Falls
On arrival in the school, the group were greeted by a hand written sign made by the students Cead Mile Failte - Welcome to our visitors from Ireland. They met the teachers and worked out a time table for next week where they would be teaching Computers, Maths, Science, Art, English, Music, and Games. On Saturday 2nd July, as the school was closed for two public holidays on the following Monday and Tuesday, they all went on a eight hour bus journey to Livingstone where they spent three nights in a another hostel. On the way, the bus broke down twice and they were stranded on the side of the road for two hours and then another hour. On Sunday, they went to the local mass where they were made feel very welcome and all the people sang in harmony and with great conviction. God and education are the priorities in Zambia. In the afternoon, they went to visit the Victoria Falls by public bus. This is one of the wonders of the world, twice as deep and as long as the Niagara Falls. The locals call it 'The Smoke That Thunders'. The noise of the falling water can be heard from a great distance away. They all had to don two large raincoats to walk across a Knife Edge Bridge and despite the coats they were all drenched. Afterwards they descended a steep tropical rainforest gorge inhabited by many monkeys, to view Boiling Point where the river Zambezi runs in three directions.
Safari
The following day they all went on safari. They boarded a truck in the village and were driven into the Livingstone National Park where they saw elephants, giraffes, Kampala, wilder beast, buffalo, zebras, monkeys and white rhinos. The white rhino was the most spectacular. They walked into the bush accompanied by two rangers armed with rifles. The following day they returned to Lusaka by bus. Thankfully the bus did not break down on the return eight hour journey.
School Day
Every day from then on, they taught in the school from eight am to four pm. The school has over six hundred girls from grade two to grade nine. The senior girls attend school in the morning and the younger girls in the afternoon. All the girls are single or double orphaned due to HIV/Aids. Their day begins with prayer and a bowl of porridge made from maize, milk and sugar, which for some is their only meal of the day. After completing their education, the girls are sponsored to enter grade ten in government run schools which require fees to be paid. The facilities in the school were poor with toilets having no running water
Poverty
Over 67% of the population of Zambia lives below the poverty line. Poor families live in compounds outside the city and parents tend not to educate the girls because they cannot afford the fees in the government run schools. The girls tend to marry young and or have children at a very young age. Many are raped as they are perceived to be free from AIDS at a young age. Pauline Griffin and three of the students visited a compound by one of the local women working in the school to meet her family. Children came from everywhere, dressed in rags and no shoes. Cardboard shops lined the way into the compound where people sold their wares and food, some of which consisted of charcoal black mice and fish heads. Despite this, the people were very welcoming and had a great community spirit helping each other out in times of need. They greet you with a kiss on both cheeks and are very humble people. They also noticed groups of youths hanging around with nothing to do. Unemployment is huge in Zambia. The streets are very dirty with rubbish thrown around everywhere and there seemed to be no bins or rubbish collection except in the shopping centres.
Mother Teresa’s Orphanage
On one afternoon we visited Mother Teresa's Orphanage, where we played with the beautiful children orphaned by malnutrition and disease. On another afternoon we visited the Marian Shrine which is another orphanage. They met an Irish woman working there helping with the teaching of the older children and bought many beaded bracelets and necklaces made by them. They sang and played the drums for them and some of our students played the tin whistle and bowran for them.
On the last day they were treated to a display of netball games in a yard with a cement uneven surface. They play with no shoes and no PE uniform. They performed traditional dance with drums for them. They were great movers. Our students also participated in some of the games and dance. The students and teachers gave gifts of bracelets, balloons, pencils and sweets to the children.
Finally, Ms. Griffin presented a clock and engraving that they had brought from Ireland as a gift to the teachers. After many hugs and tears, they made our final fare well and went back to pack for our return journey to Ireland the following day.
What impressed Ms. Griffin the most was the friendliness of the Zambian people, their beautiful skin and teeth and their faith in God.
The Mary Aikenhead Open Community School, Lusaka, Zambia
The school has its origins under the shelter of a tree in 1992. Later with help from Irish Aid and Zambian Open Community Schools, a school was built in Kawabata. The Sisters of Charity wanted to help the young girls in the Compounds whose parents could not afford the fees in the government run schools. The female child had became very vulnerable as a result, often marrying or being raped a very young age and ultimately living a life of extreme poverty. It is a male dominated society where boys are often educated in preference to the girl child. Zambia also has the highest incidence of HIV/Aids. The girls in the Mary Aikenhead School are either single or double orphaned girls. The final year in the school is grade 7 which is equivalent to the Irish Junior Certificate. The students must sit a state exam in Grade 7 and in Grade 9 before they can enter Grade 10 in a government school. The Sisters of Charity Zambia, then sponsor and find places for the students who want to complete their education, in so far as possible.
Poor Facilities
The facilities in the school are poor compared to European standards. There is an outside tap for drinking water which must be boiled. There is no flush in the toilets and the yard is made of uneven concrete. The school has over six hundred students. The day is divided in two with the senior classes in the morning and the younger classes in the afternoon. The girls walk for a hour into the school from the compounds along dirt roads, and then wash their feet in the outside tap. Both teaching sessions begin with an assembly in the yard followed by a bowl of porridge made with maize. For some this is their only meal of the day
The teachers and students from St. Mary’s taught Computers, Maths, English reading, Science, Music and Dance, Art and Games. A typical class consisted of sixty five students. Before they began teaching, each class sang a song in harmony to welcome them and to thank them. There is simply not enough teachers to meet the needs of the school. The school is not supported by the Government. The Sisters Of Charity rely on outside donations to pay the teachers’ salaries and run the school in general. The teachers are also not fully qualified and some survive on 50 Kwatcha, about €8, a month after paying high rents for accommodation. Rents are high in Lusaka. People with money build houses and high rise flats which must be enclosed in walls for security as theft is high in Lusaka.
Computer facilities had only been set up when they arrived. There were only five working computers which were very old and had been donated to the school. There was no Internet and they had no printer. The mouse attached to the computers were dirty and very old. None of the students and most of the teachers had ever used a computer before. Our group taught them the basics of using a computer. Sue Tully who has been teaching computers in St Mary's Secondary school Baldoyle for many years proved to be a very valuable asset.
Many many thanks to all the teachers and students for giving their time and effort to this most worthwhile cause.
We hope to continue our association with the Mary Aikenhead Open Community School in Lusaka for many years to come.
European & Global Citizenship Green Action Day
St. Mary’s Secondary School, Baldoyle,
Friday 21st January 2011, 10 a.m. - 1.15 p.m.
The Green School Committee and Green School Co-Ordinator Ms. Pauline Griffin are hosting a Green Action Day on European & Global Citizenship, this Friday 21 January.
The Green Action Day will be opened by Socialist Party MEP – Mr. Joe Higgins, in the school hall at 10 a.m. Mr. Higgins will present a talk on the European Parliament and how it affects the environment. This will be followed by international displays and announcement of competition winners in relation to the Fifth Green Flag.
Refreshments will be available in the School’s canteen at 11 a.m.
There will be a series of interactive seminars at 11.15 a.m.
There will also be a chance to learn more about The Green School Programme and to view our Green School Initiatives. The school has raised €8000 for the education of street children in this school in the past year.
St Mary’s Secondary School was designated the Greenest School in Ireland at the Green Awards in December 2008. The school is also a designated Fair trade school and is uniquely currently seeking a fifth An Taisce Green Flag.
Green School Committee Meetings
2009-2010
8 Cotober 2009
2010-2011
14 October 2010
28 February 2011
Walking for Education of Street Children Zambia
Flora Women's Mini Marathon
Ms. Griffin led a number of teachers and students in the Flora Women's Mini Marathon on Monday 6 June.
Ms. Griffin was joined by Ms. Tully and Ms. O'Donnell.
Second Year Students, Orlaigh Kelly, Niamh Crilly and Emma Doyle also took part as did Fifth Year Students, Daria Walska, Paige Lenihan and Sarah Jones..
Some parents also ran including Anne Andrews (Ericka Andrews) and Anne Dolan. Tori Campbell ran on behalf of Samantha Murphy.
All the runners had sponsorship now and all donations are welcome.
It was a most successful day and congratulations to everyone involved.
Well done everyone.
St. Mary’s Secondary School has been fund raising for the past two years to help support the teaching of girl street children in the Mary Aikenhead Open Community School, Lusaka, Zambia. The fundraising formed part of the efforts towards the fifth an Taisce Green Flag for European and global citizenship. St. Mary's Secondary School supported this sister of charity school in Zambia by fundraising €18,000 over two years. The fundraising included cake sales, marathons, sponsored walks, non-uniform days, Halloween parties, fun quizzes, variety shows, church collections, fun bingo's, carol singing, raffles and talent competitions. The money has been used to put a new floor in the computer room, furnishing the Home Economics room and science equipment and helping to pay the teacher’s salaries.
Arrival in Lusaka
The group arrived in Lusaka Airport on 30th June following a ten hour flight from London. They were met by the Principal of the Mary Aikenhead School, Sr. Mary Roche, who drove them in her truck to the convent for tea. They were then taken to a hostel which would be their home for the next two weeks. Living conditions were very basic with cold showers and draughty doors and windows. The next day we travelled by local bus to the Mary Aikenhead school. The buses were very old mini buses and were packed to capacity. The currency in Zambia is kwatcha with 6000 kwatcha equivalent to €1. The fare was 3000kw
Visit to Victoria Falls
On arrival in the school, the group were greeted by a hand written sign made by the students Cead Mile Failte - Welcome to our visitors from Ireland. They met the teachers and worked out a time table for next week where they would be teaching Computers, Maths, Science, Art, English, Music, and Games. On Saturday 2nd July, as the school was closed for two public holidays on the following Monday and Tuesday, they all went on a eight hour bus journey to Livingstone where they spent three nights in a another hostel. On the way, the bus broke down twice and they were stranded on the side of the road for two hours and then another hour. On Sunday, they went to the local mass where they were made feel very welcome and all the people sang in harmony and with great conviction. God and education are the priorities in Zambia. In the afternoon, they went to visit the Victoria Falls by public bus. This is one of the wonders of the world, twice as deep and as long as the Niagara Falls. The locals call it 'The Smoke That Thunders'. The noise of the falling water can be heard from a great distance away. They all had to don two large raincoats to walk across a Knife Edge Bridge and despite the coats they were all drenched. Afterwards they descended a steep tropical rainforest gorge inhabited by many monkeys, to view Boiling Point where the river Zambezi runs in three directions.
Safari
The following day they all went on safari. They boarded a truck in the village and were driven into the Livingstone National Park where they saw elephants, giraffes, Kampala, wilder beast, buffalo, zebras, monkeys and white rhinos. The white rhino was the most spectacular. They walked into the bush accompanied by two rangers armed with rifles. The following day they returned to Lusaka by bus. Thankfully the bus did not break down on the return eight hour journey.
School Day
Every day from then on, they taught in the school from eight am to four pm. The school has over six hundred girls from grade two to grade nine. The senior girls attend school in the morning and the younger girls in the afternoon. All the girls are single or double orphaned due to HIV/Aids. Their day begins with prayer and a bowl of porridge made from maize, milk and sugar, which for some is their only meal of the day. After completing their education, the girls are sponsored to enter grade ten in government run schools which require fees to be paid. The facilities in the school were poor with toilets having no running water
Poverty
Over 67% of the population of Zambia lives below the poverty line. Poor families live in compounds outside the city and parents tend not to educate the girls because they cannot afford the fees in the government run schools. The girls tend to marry young and or have children at a very young age. Many are raped as they are perceived to be free from AIDS at a young age. Pauline Griffin and three of the students visited a compound by one of the local women working in the school to meet her family. Children came from everywhere, dressed in rags and no shoes. Cardboard shops lined the way into the compound where people sold their wares and food, some of which consisted of charcoal black mice and fish heads. Despite this, the people were very welcoming and had a great community spirit helping each other out in times of need. They greet you with a kiss on both cheeks and are very humble people. They also noticed groups of youths hanging around with nothing to do. Unemployment is huge in Zambia. The streets are very dirty with rubbish thrown around everywhere and there seemed to be no bins or rubbish collection except in the shopping centres.
Mother Teresa’s Orphanage
On one afternoon we visited Mother Teresa's Orphanage, where we played with the beautiful children orphaned by malnutrition and disease. On another afternoon we visited the Marian Shrine which is another orphanage. They met an Irish woman working there helping with the teaching of the older children and bought many beaded bracelets and necklaces made by them. They sang and played the drums for them and some of our students played the tin whistle and bowran for them.
On the last day they were treated to a display of netball games in a yard with a cement uneven surface. They play with no shoes and no PE uniform. They performed traditional dance with drums for them. They were great movers. Our students also participated in some of the games and dance. The students and teachers gave gifts of bracelets, balloons, pencils and sweets to the children.
Finally, Ms. Griffin presented a clock and engraving that they had brought from Ireland as a gift to the teachers. After many hugs and tears, they made our final fare well and went back to pack for our return journey to Ireland the following day.
What impressed Ms. Griffin the most was the friendliness of the Zambian people, their beautiful skin and teeth and their faith in God.
The Mary Aikenhead Open Community School, Lusaka, Zambia
The school has its origins under the shelter of a tree in 1992. Later with help from Irish Aid and Zambian Open Community Schools, a school was built in Kawabata. The Sisters of Charity wanted to help the young girls in the Compounds whose parents could not afford the fees in the government run schools. The female child had became very vulnerable as a result, often marrying or being raped a very young age and ultimately living a life of extreme poverty. It is a male dominated society where boys are often educated in preference to the girl child. Zambia also has the highest incidence of HIV/Aids. The girls in the Mary Aikenhead School are either single or double orphaned girls. The final year in the school is grade 7 which is equivalent to the Irish Junior Certificate. The students must sit a state exam in Grade 7 and in Grade 9 before they can enter Grade 10 in a government school. The Sisters of Charity Zambia, then sponsor and find places for the students who want to complete their education, in so far as possible.
Poor Facilities
The facilities in the school are poor compared to European standards. There is an outside tap for drinking water which must be boiled. There is no flush in the toilets and the yard is made of uneven concrete. The school has over six hundred students. The day is divided in two with the senior classes in the morning and the younger classes in the afternoon. The girls walk for a hour into the school from the compounds along dirt roads, and then wash their feet in the outside tap. Both teaching sessions begin with an assembly in the yard followed by a bowl of porridge made with maize. For some this is their only meal of the day
The teachers and students from St. Mary’s taught Computers, Maths, English reading, Science, Music and Dance, Art and Games. A typical class consisted of sixty five students. Before they began teaching, each class sang a song in harmony to welcome them and to thank them. There is simply not enough teachers to meet the needs of the school. The school is not supported by the Government. The Sisters Of Charity rely on outside donations to pay the teachers’ salaries and run the school in general. The teachers are also not fully qualified and some survive on 50 Kwatcha, about €8, a month after paying high rents for accommodation. Rents are high in Lusaka. People with money build houses and high rise flats which must be enclosed in walls for security as theft is high in Lusaka.
Computer facilities had only been set up when they arrived. There were only five working computers which were very old and had been donated to the school. There was no Internet and they had no printer. The mouse attached to the computers were dirty and very old. None of the students and most of the teachers had ever used a computer before. Our group taught them the basics of using a computer. Sue Tully who has been teaching computers in St Mary's Secondary school Baldoyle for many years proved to be a very valuable asset.
Many many thanks to all the teachers and students for giving their time and effort to this most worthwhile cause.
We hope to continue our association with the Mary Aikenhead Open Community School in Lusaka for many years to come.
European & Global Citizenship Green Action Day
St. Mary’s Secondary School, Baldoyle,
Friday 21st January 2011, 10 a.m. - 1.15 p.m.
The Green School Committee and Green School Co-Ordinator Ms. Pauline Griffin are hosting a Green Action Day on European & Global Citizenship, this Friday 21 January.
The Green Action Day will be opened by Socialist Party MEP – Mr. Joe Higgins, in the school hall at 10 a.m. Mr. Higgins will present a talk on the European Parliament and how it affects the environment. This will be followed by international displays and announcement of competition winners in relation to the Fifth Green Flag.
Refreshments will be available in the School’s canteen at 11 a.m.
There will be a series of interactive seminars at 11.15 a.m.
- Global Hunger & Human Rights by Aoife McTernan, Trocaire
- European & Global Citizenship - Rights and Responsibilities - by Brigit O’ Driscoll, An Taisce
- Guidelines for obtaining a green flag on the five themes and information on the Mary Aikenhead open Community School in Lusaka, Zambia.
There will also be a chance to learn more about The Green School Programme and to view our Green School Initiatives. The school has raised €8000 for the education of street children in this school in the past year.
St Mary’s Secondary School was designated the Greenest School in Ireland at the Green Awards in December 2008. The school is also a designated Fair trade school and is uniquely currently seeking a fifth An Taisce Green Flag.
Green School Committee Meetings
2009-2010
8 Cotober 2009
2010-2011
14 October 2010
28 February 2011
Walking for Education of Street Children Zambia
Flora Women's Mini Marathon
Ms. Griffin led a number of teachers and students in the Flora Women's Mini Marathon on Monday 6 June.
Ms. Griffin was joined by Ms. Tully and Ms. O'Donnell.
Second Year Students, Orlaigh Kelly, Niamh Crilly and Emma Doyle also took part as did Fifth Year Students, Daria Walska, Paige Lenihan and Sarah Jones..
Some parents also ran including Anne Andrews (Ericka Andrews) and Anne Dolan. Tori Campbell ran on behalf of Samantha Murphy.
All the runners had sponsorship now and all donations are welcome.
It was a most successful day and congratulations to everyone involved.
Well done everyone.