Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Pupils urge Holyrood to back Malawi work
Pupils from St Margaret’s High are taking their campaign to support the school’s work in Malawi right to the Scottish Government.
Second- year pupils have written letters on the topic to international development minister Alasdair Allan, with their correspondence being handdelivered to Holyrood by Airdrie & Shotts MSP Alex Neil.
The letters were collected last week, just two days before a 20-strong group of staff and senior pupils prepeared to head to Malawi for two weeks to help with community projects.
English teacher Andy McKay said the S2 youngsters wrote impressive letters to Dr Allan after learning about the lives of children in the African country and asking for support for the Airdrie school’s work with disabled youngsters there.
He said: “They were really articulate in asking for help with the Aiming Higher programme and writing about international aid.
“They put their heart and soul into it and Alex Neil said he’d hand-deliver them to Dr Allan at the Scottish Parliament on the pupils’ behalf.
“He and Jim Logue both came along to find out more about it from the pupils. They’ve both been big supporters for years of our work in Malawi and were really impressed with the letters they’d written.”
Mr McKay is the coordinator of the school’s Malawi programme and is among the school contingent currently on a visit there. Their activities will include holding a health camp for disabled children aged under seven, where medics will assess their needs and screen them for malnutrition.
Group members will also meet Sister Anna Tomassi to visit schools and join in with her projects to feed thousands of children every day.
They have taken 30 projectors, donated by SSUK, to give to schools, medics and community facilities.
St Margaret’s pupils and staff are also supporting a new project to sponsor a bag of porridge, costing £4 and able to feed one youngster for three months.
They have also taken part in various fundraisers, including S3 pupil Theo Rossi staging his own coffee morning and handing over proceeds of £300.
St Margaret’s High earned the school impact title at last October’s ScotlandMalawi Partnership awards for their eight years of links with the country.