The One World Centre’s latest venture is to give St John’s Year 5 students the opportunity of easing the lives of people around the world. Following a presentation by Nick Calland, the area representative of the Leprosy Mission, the class is busy researching this debilitating illness prior to creating a DVD for use in communities where leprosy is found. Simple straightforward messages can make a huge difference to those who are affected, especially those who have had no or little education.
The resulting script will be submitted to TME, a UK-based charity which has produced 30 different educational DVDs so far, translated into as many as 54 languages. The script will be checked by experts there before being recorded. The One World Centre hopes to recruit local people on the Island to help with recording and will be looking for those whose mother tongue is spoken in areas where leprosy is a problem.
Rosemary Clarke, director of the One World Centre, said “I’m excited by the idea of children developing skills through literacy and using them for a real task. They need to use different methods of research, and then work out the information that people need to know. Then they need to order the information and work it into a script which fits a pre-set format. It will be great if they can spread the message that leprosy can be cured, and that it can’t be caught through touch.”
Pete Lewis, Deputy Headteacher at St John’s, added, “This is a great opportunity for children to take an active part in communicating such an important message around the world. We're delighted to help and looking forward to putting the script together."
For more information about this project contact the One World Centre on 800464 or by emailing info@owciom.org.
Photo - Nick Calland of the Leprosy Mission accepts stamps collected by St John’s school. The stamps are sold on to raise funds for leprosy aid projects.
