St Aidan's pupils address Scottish Parliament on poverty

Mia Fallon and Nathanial Sweeney gave a talk to MSPs

S6 pupils Mia Fallon and Nathaniel Sweeney addressed MSPs and acted as representatives for their school’s “Living on £2” campaign.

The £2-a-day challenge tasked pupils with going through a school week with only £10 to spend on food. This figure was to reflect the fact that an estimated 1/3 of the world’s population has to live on less that $2 per day.

Each student that participated was asked to find sponsors and raise awareness of the campaign.

In total the school raised £1,311 as part of the challenge. This money will be donated to local charities including Paul’s Parcels – a Shotts voluntary organisation striving to eradicate food poverty.

Kenny O'Donnell, Principal Teacher of Social Subjects at St Aidan's High said: "As a social subjects department, we all teach about inequality.

" We felt this was a good opportunity to provide some context to learning as well as creating empathy and encouraging positive action about matters which exist not only worldwide, but in our own school community too."

Claire Connelly, Headteacher at St Aidan's High, said: "The whole school community are extremely proud of Mia and Nathaniel in leading Time for Reflection at the Scottish Parliament

"Pupils across the school were able to watch live during their online learning. The senior pupils involved in the project did a wonderful job of highlighting the challenges that po verty brings and we appreciate the support of families and friends in raising funds to help those in need."

Motherwell and Wishaw MSP Clare Adamson had nominated St Aidan’s to bring the campaign to the attention of the Scottish Parliament at ‘Time for Reflection’.

She said: “Mia and Nathaniel represented their school wonderfully.

"This campaign fits in perfectly with the Parliament’s Time for Reflection, r eflecting on the fact that a one-third of the world’s people are forced to subsist on less than $2 a day.

" This should give us pause for thought, and, following St Aidan’s lead, it should galvanise action.

“St Aidan’s High should be extremely proud of their efforts.