SOCIAL justice is important at St Anthony’s School, Alexandra Hills, so when the school introduced a new uniform the question arose “how to reuse the old ones?”
The answer – send them to needy students in the Pacific region.
Every year, during the final week of school, the Parish Ladies Group asks students to collect stationery and unused exercise books, which they pack into boxes and send overseas in containers to Indo and Pacific regions through the Lions Aid and Relief Centre at Woolloongabba.
Parish Ladies Group member Trish Purcell said when the offer of second-hand school uniforms came up they jumped at the chance to reuse them.
She said it was a sad fact that much of what they recycled would otherwise end up as landfill.
“However, if they’re not good enough for our own children to wear to St Anthony’s tomorrow then we won’t pack them,” she said.
Ms Purcell said the school and its students had been generous in both their time and efforts in helping the group over the past 15 years.
She said the school’s Social Justice Group had taken on a lot of the organisation of the sorting and packing before the boxes were put into containers for their overseas trip.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to educate our students to the needs of others as well as alerting them to the wastefulness of our throw-away society,” she said.
“Every student can take part and it doesn’t cost a cent to be involved.”
Ms Purcell said the last shipment of clothing went to Tonga and the next shipment of uniforms was on its way to Vanuatu where it would be appreciated.
“I have heard about the excitement that accompanied the unpacking of a container: ‘… 3000 came to the celebrations, including the chief of police, the local media and representatives of seven tribes in the region for a larger-than-usual pig feast’,” she said.
Student Jasmine Blank said knowing her old uniform would make someone else happy made her feel happy.
“I hope when they open our boxes it puts a smile on their faces and makes them happy,” she said.
