News Centre

Eager to support Caritas Challenge 2018

 

Eleven students hopped onto the school van for an unexpectedly long journey to St Peter’s Catholic Primary School to attend the Caritas Youth Leadership Day.

After complications on the road they finally arrived and were greeted by helpful staff. From there they were introduced to Caritas leaders Gemma, Petra and Michael who opened their eyes to the situation in Timor-Leste. The island is situated in Indonesia and this year Caritas Challenge New Zealand will be focusing on trying to improve the inhabitants’ well-being and building the capacity for women to begin sustainable enterprises to introduce a better way of living.

The students then went off into groups to take part in activities which educated them about the effects of lack of peace in various countries. They also role played several scenes taking the part of refugees, governments and protest groups.

Students were able to take away the idea of being advocates and creating awareness on behalf of those in need. A change in attitude is important and must not only happen globally but also within each heart.

From this leadership day the students will be able to take away what they have learnt to help them stay motivated to develop plans for future Caritas Challenge events at Sancta Maria College. They are excited to see what they will be able to do for the school and what the school can do for Timor-Leste.

Angelique Castro