Fairtrade Fortnight Fairtrade fortnight happens at the same time every year and is a great opportunity for us to promote fair-trade and the...

Fairtrade Fortnight

Fairtrade fortnight happens at the same time every year and is a great opportunity for us to promote fair-trade and the values behind it. It’s great seeing the students engage with the idea of helping those in less fortunate situations and challenging their values around consumerism and helping others.

This week I have been telling the story of Jennifer, a 14 year old girl who lives in Ghana. When she was younger she had to move away from home because the nearest school was 2 hours away. Her dad produces cocoa for the local fair-trade co-operative which provides them with a steady income, something they have never had before. Using fair-trade money they have also been able to build a school in their village so that Jennifer has been able to move back home. I have been challenging the students to think about what difference that would make in their lives, if they can even imagine being in that situation to start with! 

We have told stories like these through lessons and assemblies during fair-trade fortnight and also had cake sales to help promote just how tasty fair-trade food can be! Following one lesson which involved us playing a trade game to explore how unfair it could be, a student commented “I didn’t realise how hard it could be for people in smaller countries to compete against countries that have all the power”.