Mini Vinnies

Our next Mini Vinnies meeting will be held on Friday, 2 November. We will be organising our activities for Term 4.

Anti-Poverty Week & Pens Against Poverty Writing Competition

This week, 14-20 October 2018, is Anti-Poverty Week. The main aims of Anti-Poverty Week are to:

- Strengthen public understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty and hardship around the world and in Australia; and

- Encourage research, discussion and action to address these problems, including action by individuals, communities, organisations and governments.

https://www.antipovertyweek.org.au/

The Pens Against Poverty Writing Competition is coordinated by Anglicare and is an official acitivity of Anti-Poverty Week. It aims to heighten empathy among readers and writers on the topic of poverty. The theme for this year is ‘On the Edge’.

Three St Thomas More’s students submitted well-constructed and thought-provoking poems for the competition. Well done to Eva Davidson (Year 5), Lindsay Holmes (Year 6) and Ava White (Year 3) for dedicating your gifts of creativity and good-heartedness towards the global social justice issue of poverty.

Our school has been advised Ava White has won a prize and she will attend an awards ceremony this Friday. Congratulations Ava!!! Ava’s poem is below:

ON THE EDGE

 The helpless cries of children, ringing in your ears.

Sleeping on hard ground, park benches, cold cement.

Sleeping close to death.

Give them shelter, light.

Give them love, warmth.

Give them warm meals.

Give them water and hold them close.

Take them away from the edge.

The edge of despair, the edge of sadness, the edge of hunger and thirst.

Give them the help that they deserve.

When did their life become less valuable than yours?

Give them hope.

Let them speak.

Give them a chance.

Their opinions matter.

Their cold, hungry bodies should be removed from the streets, and taken into a house,

taken into the willing, loving arms of a family.

Restless, sleepless nights worrying.

Worrying.

Worrying when the next decent meal will come.

Maybe never!

This is what goes on in their heads on all those cold, sleepless nights, spent worrying.

Don’t ignore them!

Share the love!

Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Dirty or not, they are people!

People, who deserve kindness.

This world is out of sight to them.

They live somewhere different.

They do not often see a good meal.

They do not often see clean water.

Many must rummage through bins, to find breakfast.

Hoping to scavenge a crumb or two.

This is the way they live. It is not fair.

We must change this.

We must help out. Let’s altogether bring them away from the edge.

Feel welcome to visit or contact me on 6249 8869 or send an email to sonja.mingay@cg.catholic.edu.au .

Sonja Mingay
School Chaplain
Work hours: Thu 11am-3pm, Fri 9am-3pm