Social Justice Camp

Last Wednesday we took part in a Justice Matters camp in Beechworth. We hopped on the bus and picked up some other schools along the way. As soon as we got to the beautiful original Brigidine Convent, we settled into our room and had a welcome where every school brought a banner or candle. 

That night after settling in, the leader of the camp, David took us up the stairs where on entry we picked a ticket out of a bag. Depending on the colour of the ticket, it would show us where we would sit - a table with chips and cordial, one with water, and some on the floor. This is what we call a global reality dinner. These were real life statistics. Out of the fifty students, 10 were on the “high table” 15 were “middle class” and 25 were on the floor on “lower class. The lower and middle class groups were fed cold dried up rice and cold baked beans straight out of the tin. Let's just say that most of us went to bed hungry! 

We woke up early the next morning and got straight into some workshops. Some of us were in the renewable energy one where we participated in a debate discussing whether or not a transition into renewable energy was worth the negative side effects. We all agreed in the end that it was worth it. 

Another workshop we took part in was one about asylum seekers led by Sister Cecilia. We learnt about Nicole Dilibenzi’s story, who some of you may know, and how she got to where she is today. 

Later on that day we went on an amazing race around the town of Beechworth versing all of the other school groups and learned about the town's history involving many fun activities, fair trade and slavery free products sold in our local area. 

We also learned that having a roof over your head, a bed to sleep in, a cupboard and a fridge means you are richer than 80% of our population. Lastly, we ended the night with a movie called The Public then went to sleep. 

Over the course of this camp, we realised that we shouldn’t take things for granted and are really lucky for the things we have. We left the camp with many fun memories and also learned about the things we can do to make a difference in our world and make it a better place to live in. 

Thanks for reading. 

Ruby and Rose