Yes, it’s now time to be thinking of Christmas – even though it’s only July. We are ready to launch our Operation Christmas Child Appeal for 2007.
The aim of this appeal is to send a little happiness and cheer to those children of the world who are less fortunate than us – many of whom have never received a gift. Last year, over 270,883 children in countries like Vietnam, New Guinea, Fiji, Cambodia, Thailand and the Solomons received shoeboxes from Australian families.
As part of the Senior School’s service learning focus, for the second year, a small group of Year 11 students and 3 teachers fly to Tanzania on Thursday to take part in the CAS camp at the International School, Moshi.
Here, the students will engage in service projects, alongside students from Switzerland and Dubai, upgrading a school for blind students. In addition, they will spend time in at least one orphanage, as well as attending a church service.
Following this, the group will safari to Ngorongoro Crater and Olduvai Gorge, and then trek up Mt Meru to 3800m to watch the sun rise over Mt Kilimanjaro. Whilst in Moshi, they will be meeting with Pastor Muhindo Isesomo who coordinates our service projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
We look forward to hearing about their experiences on their return.
As school goes back, now is the time to get serious. To start the challenge, we have 12 registrations and $60 donated, but many more have accepted the challenge and hopefully, will come to register after the holiday break. Those books which have been read over the break (and in fact those read from the beginning of March) can be listed in your Challenge Reading Log.
Those who are looking for ideas about what to read, there is a list of “Notable” books for 2007 on the Children’s Book Council of Australia web site. These are books from Australian authors written in the last year, chosen to represent the best. The list includes well recognised and up-and-coming authors, and this year includes a special award for new illustrators, so it is a great source.
Remember, of course, that you are aiming to help improve the educational opportunities of those far from you in this Challenge – children of the Congo, whose lives could be changed for the price of many of the books you will be reading!!
Will you try to make a difference? Sign up! Post a review if you like…
In a recent letter to a local church Pastor Ise-Somo from the DR Congo — a large country, where many live in isolated jungle areas, revealed some of the costs for children to attend school in the Congo.
These included parents of primary schoolers paying $6 each for 3 months - a total of $18 a year for one child, and for secondary school students parents are paying $9 every 3 months – a total of $27 for one child in a year.
In spite of these relatively modest costs, many families really struggle to pay for school fees, medicine or clothes, so that education is often considered far too costly. But to us here in Australia, this is less than we might spend in a week on lunches!! Education is a right for every child and assists in so many ways to relieve the poverty cycle- it should be available to all.
In what ways can we provide Christian support to families of the Congo to ease their daily burdens? Will access to education relieve some poverty issues?
Students from last year’s challenge have been eagerly taking home registration forms in preparation for this year’s challenge. Paige McCarry being the first to register! (and indirectly, the one to urge staff to consider setting up a reading challenge.) With holidays coming up soon, the welcome break from class assignments is the ideal time to take up the challenge.
This year there are no reading lists, as we are interested in what students are keen to freely choose to read, and since we usually we have a fabulous flow of new books – both fiction and non-fiction from which to make selections. It will interesting at the end of the Challenge to see what books are popular choices!!
For those who are yet to take the steps to the Challenge, visit the Senior School Library for all the details. This activity can also be part of your Community and Service commitment with further investigation of the Congo Project at school.
For those who have enjoyed and participated in readers’ challenges in recent years, here is the challenge for 2007 -
“READ TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!”
This year, the focus is fundraising to contribute to the school’s Congo project - donation of $5 is needed to take part in the challenge (though more is welcome). Why not involve all your family and friends?
To register, see Senior School Library staff for Reading Logsheets and more details. Links about what life is like for kids of the Congo (and nearby African countries) will also be added here at a later date to show where your donations can help.
How do you think you might make a difference?
