Now in its fifth year, Globally Called is an initiative of San Clemente’s Teaching and Learning Coordinator of Religious Studies, Rose McAllister and HSIE coordinator, Leticia Wakely. The exhibition is a cross- curricular initiative with Religious Studies and Geography.
Year 8 students from San Clemente were commissioned to be ambassadors by Caritas Diocesan Director, Patricia Bannister, just before Lent. Students were then placed in groups of five and allocated a country to study. Using their recently acquired knowledge students created engaging and informative stalls which conveyed their understanding of inequality in communities around the world and the work that Caritas is doing to assist.
At the Globally Called event, stalls were on display and hosted by ambassadors, with guests and other students invited to wander the stalls, asking questions and participating in staged activities.
Student, Maxim Knight, told me about the work of Caritas in Indonesia, describing the story of a woman called Tati. Maxim said that before Tati joined the Caritas ecotourism program, she and her husband earned money from rubber tapping and raising chickens. With the help of Caritas, Tati has been able to increase her income ten times over by cooking for tourists and making souvenirs. I also learned that in Indonesia, Caritas assists locals in protecting and preserving the rainforests in West Kalimantan for future generations.
Each stall was unique, with some having games, guessing competitions or laptops showing videos. A few gave out chatterboxes with facts inside and one stall had a spinning wheel, with numbers linked to a trivia question about that country. Each stall also had brochures, bookmarks and magnets to giveaway so that the information learnt would not be forgotten.
Fr George Sigamony and Justice Educator Chris Nolan from Caritas Sydney came to see Globally Called and were very impressed with the knowledge students displayed. Chris said, “Before coming today I’d heard some amazing things about San Clemente and Globally Called, and I must say being here today has exceeded my expectations.” Chris thanked the students on behalf of Caritas and said he loved that they had incorporated the six Project Compassion stories, liveability factors, Catholic social justice teachings and highlighted the great work of Caritas in their stalls.
Rose McAllister concluded the event by thanking students for their hard work, saying she was very proud and that they had been true ambassadors for Caritas.
