SHREWSBURY - 8 May 2008 - 320 words
West
Midland school visits Thai orphans
Pupils and staff from Saint Paul's Catholic High School in Wythenshawe,
in Shrewsbury Diocese, have recently returned from a trip to
Pattaya Orphanage in Thailand where they spent their time supporting
the orphanage staff in looking after the children.
The trip, involving 13 pupils aged 15-16 and three members of staff was part of the GCSE Citizenship work. The trip was financed by the pupils' fundraising activities including washing cars, sponsored walk, collecting old phones and packing shopping bags in the local supermarkets. The staff and pupils did an amazing job managing to raise almost £12,000 which covered the costs of the trip plus a donation of just under £2,000 to the orphanage.
"This is such a worthwhile cause,
Pattaya Orphanage does a great job in helping vulnerable and disadvantaged
children in Thailand. They care for abandoned, disabled, tsunami
survivors and street children, "said Mrs Ursula Gallagher,
Head of PHSE (personal, health and social education) at Saint
Paul's, who supervised the fundraising. "The orphanage provides
a home, education and offers a positive future for almost one
thousand children; in addition, they help many others through
their health and nutrition projects."
"To provide this caring environment costs a substantial amount
of money and the charity is funded almost entirely by voluntary
donations," continued Mrs Gallagher. "It is important
for our pupils to care about the wider community and I am delighted
to see them finding ways to contribute towards the care of those
less fortunate than themselves."
"I'd like to pay a huge tribute to those involved for their
generosity of spirit and willingness to get involved," said
Mr Wiktor Daron, Head Teacher at Saint Paul's. "As a school,
we encourage our pupils to have a social conscience. Pattaya orphanage
is making a big difference to the lives of real people in Thailand,
also it was founded by a Catholic priest, Father Ray Brennan,
so continues the Catholic ethos which is the foundation of our
school."
Once the school heard about the work of the orphanage, they began
to use it as an example of how the efforts of one person, Father
Ray, could make a positive difference on the lives of others.
The pupils then became very interested in the work of the orphanage
and the idea of helping to make a difference was born.
The trip provided the pupils with an invaluable range of learning
opportunities ranging from cultural diversity, social inequality
and globalization. Saint Paul's was able to help with the teaching
at the orphanage of literacy, numeracy and general physical education.
"The children from both sides of the globe had no problems
interacting with each other despite the lack of common language,"
said Mrs Gallagher. "In particular, I was amazed by the power
of football once a football was produced, the youngsters
quickly formed teams and off they went. At times the pupils from
Saint Paul's were worried that, as they were wearing trainers
and the children from the orphanage were bare footed, that some
injuries would occur, however the uniting of these children with
such vast differences brought about kindness and equality that
was a privilege to observe."
© Independent Catholic News 2008
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