On Friday the 6th of October Ms Grace and
Ms Finneran’s JPIC classes took a trip into Dublin city where we visited the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to learn about Ireland’s international
aid programme. The bus departed the school at 9:30am, we sat back and watched
the green fields of Fingal transform into tall city buildings.
We got off the bus on St. Stephan’s Green and were
challenged with a treasure hunt of sorts. We were given a sheet of questions in
relation to JPIC and we had to find the answers on Grafton Street and its
surrounding areas. In a group of six we set off to answer the questions quickly
so that we could enjoy our lunch leisurely in the green.
At 11:40 we met at the entrance to the park and began
walking to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade which is on Clonmel Street,
a quick three minute stroll. When we arrived, we played a game that helped us
to understand how a family in Malawi survives year to year whilst battling
draught, blight and hunger. Each team represented a family living in the
village of Kulungira in Malawi and we had to play to live essentially,
responding to challenges and scenarios that occurred over the course of the
three year period.
This game opened our eyes to the instability of life
in Sub-Saharan Africa. The smallest of events can throw everything up in the
air and cause complete and utter disaster for a family.
After the game was over we watched a video summarising
the work of Irish Aid in multiple countries. We learned about a girl called
Memory, who was 18 years old but still attending primary school because she had
been held back by the work that she had to do at home. This made us realise our
privilege, here in Ireland we beg not to go to school and Memory must beg to go
to school.
All in all, it was an eye opening, educational trip.
We all gained an appreciation for school, for our health and for the stability
in our lives, the fact that we know that there will always be food on our
tables.
No comments:
Post a Comment