Justice at Brigidine College, St. Ives

Brigidine College St Ives has embraced the Kildare Ministries value of Justice in a variety of ways in 2020. The College has introduced two new charities which students can volunteer their time and skills to assist. The first charity is Days for Girls, where students meet weekly to make components for reusable kits to allow women in developing countries to have their menstrual cycle in a dignified manner. The second charity which we have started working with is Dignity. Students cook meals on a regular basis and these meals are distributed to people experiencing homelessness. 

Alongside these new charities, our students started the year with raising funds for schools on the south coast of NSW affected by the devastating bushfires over summer.  Also, during Term 1, the students were preparing to host the College’s annual Social Justice Forum which traditionally is a powerful way for students to interact with different charities and organisations from a broad spectrum. Unfortunately, with schools in NSW having to go into lockdown at the end of Term 1, the forum had to be cancelled. 

When we returned from lockdown in Term 2, Year 8 lead an initiative to bring in items to support the Vinnies Vans which operate in our local areas. The Social Justice leaders also started an advocacy campaign via email where students would receive weekly emails about different issues and ways which they could engage with that issue. These emails were based around our social justice motto of LEAD which stands for Listen, Educate, Act, Dignify. The emails ranged from discrimination against Indigenous Australians to girls education globally to international aide with Caritas. The College also stood in solidarity with Indigenous Australia through our Sea of Hands installation during Reconciliation week.

At the start of Term 3, the whole school was addressed by Yaser Naseri, who told his story about being a refugee from Iran, the perils of the journey which he took to be in Australia and how he has settled into life in a new country. During the term, Year 12 have run a number of fundraising events to raise money for their charity, Camp Magic.

Given all of the significant challenges which COVID-19 has put before the College, we have still been able to engage with the theme of Justice and bring it to life in our community.