Charity Day in Aid of Plan International

On 19 March, I was lucky enough to be a part of a wonderful event, which was organised by our Deputy School Captain, Dima, and Charity Prefect, Gemma, who, with the help of some of our fellow Sixth Formers, organised a terrific presentation in the hall to celebrate the wonderful array of diversity we are so fortunate to have here at Dr Challoner's Grammar School. 

To start with, each person brought food from their culture, creating a colourful buffet of snacks, which was a wonderful way of diving into the cultures everyone was so eager to learn about. After multiple attempts of pulling the younger years away from the buffet table, everyone was in their seats with snacks in hand, ready to take a trip around the world.

Dima warmed our hearts with photos of her family in traditional Eritrean clothes, reminding us why culture is so important - it's rooted in our identity and our family. Chidum then gave us an interesting insight into the different ethnic groups within Nigeria. Did you know that there are 250 to 300 distinct ethnic groups within Nigeria? Each one of them has its own unique culture and traditions! For the presentation, each person brought forward a piece of their culture, and in turn, the room was filled with such engagement. It was incredibly inspiring to see such amazing attendance!

Whilst this was a wonderful way of proudly demonstrating the aspects of ourselves we may not talk about as often as we would like, our culture day supported a wonderful charity called ‘Plan International', which is a global humanitarian and development non-profit organisation, set out to protect children's rights and equality for girls. It works in over 80 countries to improve the lives of girls and to advance their value in society, working closely with boys and men to reduce the barriers of gender inequality. As a school whose values align closely with helping people who may be less fortunate than us, the ability to support an organisation that carries these values so close to the heart made this culture day so very significant.

Writing: Anna-Maria 

Editing: Jacob