Ian and Phyllis had the pleasure of speaking to Year 8 pupils at Ballymoney High School just before Christmas in connection with cross-curricular work in which they were involved. The idea was to link a number of subjects such as Mathematics and Religious Education and also to enable pupils to come to an understanding of cultural differences and promote mutual understanding. The pupils had collected money for under-privileged people in the Third World and they then had to make decisions as to how it would be spent. They kindly chose Rock Ministries (NI) Trust to work through and they used our Christmas Alternative Gift List to help them decide what to provide for the folks in Uganda with whom we work. They bought a variety of animals including chickens, goats and pigs and these were distributed to selected families so that they could become more self-sufficient. What a wonderful, thoughtful and generous idea! Very many thanks to the Year 8 pupils and also to their Form teachers, especially Mrs Valerie McAllister who is also one of our supporters.

 

As an off-spin of the above, while we were present in the school one morning, we are also asked to speak to the senior pupils who were involved in a mini business project. These students, as part of their Business Studies curriculum, have set up and run a mini business Company called “BBB MINI BUSINESS” in which they make or purchase and market a variety of products. They were interested to learn that we were involved in the running of mini businesses in Uganda and asked if they could be involved. We immediately made contact with Daystar Christian Secondary School in Hoima and they willingly agreed to become involved. They have decided that they will produce little leather bracelets which will be forwarded to Ballymoney High School for sale. This is a wonderful opportunity for the students at Daystar to get involved in such a project as they have recently started up a number of vocational training classes, including card making, jewellery making, carpentry, tailoring and hairdressing. Such craft classes are very popular as the students see such vocational skills as an opportunity for self employment and a way out of poverty, especially if they are not so academic or simply fail to get a job. Ian and Phyllis visited Ballymoney High School recently and received a generous donation from the mini business pupils on behalf of Daystar School to allow them to purchase the necessary materials and receive professional tuition so that they can get production started for the bracelets. Ballymoney High School work with a partner school in Germany called Gesamtschule Petershagen, which is also involved in mini business projects and their mini business is called “SWOP”. This school has kindly agreed to join with Ballymoney High School to purchase and market the bracelets made by the Daystar students and we look forward to seeing how this whole project develops. The photographs show Phyllis receiving the grant cheque from the mini business pupils. Also included in the photos are the Principal and 2 members of staff who are involved in the mini business company. We would especially like to thank Mr Kemuel Nesbitt, who heads up the mini business project, for all his help, interest and encouragement.