All three Saint Kentigern schools have had a long association with World Vision, with the College being one of the top fundraising schools in the country for many years. During the 40 Hour Famine this year, students at the College raised a whopping $100,093.00, which when added to the equally significant amounts of $28,429.00 from the Boys’ School and $4,948 from the Girls’ School, has seen Saint Kentigern collectively pledge over $133,470 to this year’s fundraising appeal! Well done students! 

Funds raised this year by the College will go towards their continued support of Chigodi Village in Malawi, whilst the two primary schools joined the wider World Vision focus on providing child-friendly spaces for children in refugee camps from Syria. 

Last year, Service Co-ordinator at the College, Mr Mark Robinson, led a student visit to the impoverished African country of Malawi. The village of Chigodi has been the recipient of funds raised by the College through the 40 Hour Famine for the last two years. Funds channelled to the village have assisted their two schools, provided water bores and agricultural support. The aim is to empower local families to lift themselves out of poverty through improved education. Over the past year, with donated funds, local students have been trained in carpentry and building skills with great success. Beginning with desks and chairs for their own school, their skill level is now such that they are able to sell to other schools in the region. Plans for ‘female-friendly’ toilets at the secondary school have now come to fruition, increasing the attendance rate for the girls. The village is particularly proud to have their first two students gain acceptance to university – with the introduction of solar power lighting having extended the boys’ available study hours.

As a rule, World Vision places the focus of the annual 40 Hour Famine on feeding the needy. With a humanitarian crisis unfolding in Syria on an unprecedented scale, there has been a shift in thinking for 2016. Nine million Syrians, from a population of 12.6 million people, have been displaced with many living in stark refugee camps in the Jordanian desert. These families, who once conducted their lives not dissimilar to our own, now live in tents with few amenities available. When the rockets came, destroying their homes, they left quickly with few possessions. Charities cannot stop this war but they can help to improve the living conditions, particularly for the children. The goal of this year’s fundraising is to provide ‘child-friendly’ spaces within the camps where, for a while, the children can forget their trauma and ‘just be kids.’ 

This year, World Vision asked our primary students to imagine what they would pack in their school bag if they only had five minutes and could they live for an entire weekend with just those contents? 

Many students across the three campuses contribute to the cause in their own way and there are always those who go the extra mile. At the College 77 students raised over $500 with Bella Conyngham, the top fundraiser with $7,086.25  and the Denholm sisters, Isabella and Lulu each raising $4,115.00 each  At the Boys’ School, 18 students raised over $300 with Gray McGregor raising $1065.00. At the Girls’ School, three students raised over $300 with Chloe McGregor raising $1090.00. 

Today, CEO of World Vision, Mr Chris Clarke, along with Dan Matonga, World Vision Malawi Manager and

Emma Davison, World Vision Schools’ Coordinator, were in attendance at College full school assembly and presented Mr Robinson with a Platinum Award for raising more than $100,000.  Last year he said that he used to dream about a school raising $100,000 – and now we’ve done it two years in a row!

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