A pantomime cow and a farmyard video helped the team from Isle of Man College to victory in the finals of this year’s One World Charity Challenge, held at the Manx Museum on Monday 10th March.
The team impressed the judges with their understanding of Send A Cow, a charity which works with African families to make a difference by providing a livelihood and the chance to secure a sustainable future for their families and local communities.
As overall winners, the team from Isle of Man College comprising of Jessica Clague, Lalage Earnshaw-Cain, Rachael Williams and Laura Cherry, won ?3,100 for Send A Cow as well as the Francis Davidson Cup.
The One World Charity Challenge involves Year 12 students from the Island’s secondary schools and IoM College researching either a Manx charity that works overseas or a charity supported by the Isle of Man International Development Committee. They then put together a multimedia presentation on their findings, demonstrating an understanding of the charity’s goals and limitations and how their work meets the United Nations Millennium Goals to improve lives of the poorest and most disadvantaged people of the world.
The prize grant pool is generously donated by the H&S Davison Trust and match-funded by the Isle of Man International Development Committee. In total a grant pool of ?20,000 was shared between teams participating in this year’s One World Charity Challenge. An amount of ?8,400 was distributed among teams in the preceding inter-school competitions with the remainder being distributed to the other finalists as follows:
Joint runners up QEII, representing Pump Aid, and Castle Rushen, representing Pahar Trust, won ?2,000 each for their respective charities.
The remaining finalists, Ballakermeen High School representing Pestalozzi, King William’s College representing Namaste Children’s House and St Ninian’s representing Malawi Mission Project were each awarded ?1,500 for their charities.
Judges of the event included Hon Ministers David Anderson and Phil Gawne who both sit on the International Development Committee, Paul Craine from the Department of Education and Children, Breesha Maddrell from the Arts Council and local charity representatives Haresh Measuria and Jacqui Keenan as well a non-competing student from each participating school.
One World Centre Director Rosemary Clarke said “Once again the standard of the presentations was very high and there were lots of interesting techniques used to get points across.
“These included mashing potato, getting one of the judges to carry buckets of water, and Nepalese flute playing. In addition to learning about international development issues, the skills the students develop during the challenge give them a head start with applications to university and jobs. We wish all participants well for their future, and are always interested to learn how taking part influences their decision making. “
Photo - The winning team from Isle of Man College celebrate their victory at the One World Charity Challenge. From left to right Jessica Clague, Rachael Williams, IoM College teacher Amie Rode, Lalage Earnshaw-Cain and Louise Dignan who stood in for Laura Cherry for the finals event.
