On a very wet and windy October 9th, Andy and I were warmly welcomed to Hounsdown School to take part in their
citizenship day. I for one was really impressed to see the School tackling and talking about really important issues. Even more impressive was the way in which the student s conducted themselves during the day and each of the sessions. Talking to other lesson co-ordinators at lunch, all were commending the mature way in which each group were tackling the different subjects. The whole of years 7 and 8 took part covering topics such as Aids awareness, Cancer and of course Fairtrade.
For our part it was great to show how fairtrade benefits people all over the world. Not only through the fairtrade minimum price that allows farmers to build sustainable futures for themselves and families, but also through the fairtrade social premium which allows communities to democratically and independently invest in projects that best suit their needs. For me understanding of how the social premium works, really struck a chord with the students. The knowledge that buying a fairtrade product here in the UK directly results in a better way of life for our fellow citizens across the whole globe really demonstrated the power of fairtrade.
As always the banana game went down well and sparked some really good debates about trade, fairness and sharing. The injustices that come from trading unfairly really made the students think about how they can make a difference by changing some of their future purchasing decisions. Thinking about how a product has come to market, and asking themselves” is everyone getting a fair deal”? The constant conclusion that came from playing the banana game was that the growers deserved more for the days work and effort they made, and without the likes of fairtrade the imbalances in global trade would remain grossly unfair and go unchecked.
To finish, and I am sure Andy will agree, I would really like to thank Maxine and all the staff and pupils at Hounsdown who helped organise and run a great day. We look forward to more.
Mike