It’s time to talk - Scottish and African children link up by live
video
10 December 2007
Related pages: Pictures from
the day |
Pen portrait:
Alhassan |
Pen portrait: Bridget |
Pen portrait: Kathryn
‘Nice work, DFID!’
 This was the response of one of the 120 Scottish school students
who learned about the work of DFID on a visit to the East
Kilbride office for a day of activities on Friday 30th November.
In addition to hearing more about DFID and its work, all the students had the
unique experience of meeting new friends in Sierra Leone and Malawi by live
video-link. School students from the two African countries visited DFID's Freetown
and Lilongwe offices and shared stories about each other’s lives.
Questions put to the Scottish children from Africa included "Do you have drought
and other natural disasters in Scotland?" and "What type of food do you like to
eat?". The Scottish response to the second question was, "normal European dishes
like Indian and Chinese!".
This experience built upon the ‘pen portraits’ they
had already shared with each other, which you can read here.
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Discovering more about fighting poverty
 Scottish students also had the opportunity to personally meet the Sierra Leonean
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Zainab Bangura, who was visiting the UK on
official business and joined in with some of the day’s events. She sent a
message directly back to the Sierra Leone students - "You are the
future for Sierra Leone: it’s in your hands!" - which met with a standing ovation
on the video.
The Secretary of State, Douglas Alexander, also spoke to the students, saying
that DFID’s work is the British Government’s best kept secret. He added that the
day was a wonderful opportunity for DFID to showcase what it does and he hoped
the students would pass on what they learn to their parents and friends.
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Malawi, Sierra Leone
and the UK at a glance |
- Malawi has a population of 12 million; Sierra Leone 5
million; and the UK, just over 60 million.
- On average, people in Malawi live to 42.98 years; in
Sierra Leone, 40.58; and in the UK, 78.7.
- Half of all people in Malawi live in poverty; in Sierra
Leone, it is 70% of the population; in the UK, 17%.
- 70% of children in Malawi are enrolled in school; 80% in
Sierra Leone; and in the UK, 100%.
- Classes in Malawi average 85 pupils; in Sierra Leone, 70
pupils; and in the UK, 18.5 pupils.
- 66% of Malawians have access to water; 50% of Sierra
Leoneans; and 100% of people in the UK.
- There are almost half a million mobile phones in Malawi;
over 100,000 in Sierra Leone; and, in the UK, close to 70
million.
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A day of new experiences
 Before they came, the Scottish students put some thought into questions they
would like to ask both Ministers. The Secretary of State faced some tough ones
including: "Which factors are taken into account when deciding which countries
to give aid to?" and "Has the Government kept its promise to make poverty
history?" Minister Bangura
was asked questions about how the civil war affected Sierra Leone and what she
thought was the best way forward for Africa.
Another new experience for most of the people there was to join in some Southern
Africa gum boot and Kathak Indian dancing. This was provided by the DFID-supported organisation Music for Change. Their music and singing rang through
the building as all 120 children (and some DFID staff!) danced their way through
lunchtime. Music for Change raises awareness of development issues in schools
through music and dance.
Through four additional interactive sessions, students focused their attention
on: 'Africa – Tomorrow’s leaders'; 'Why environment and climate change matters for
poor people and poor countries'; 'Working with the United Nations'; and 'Why DFID
cares about conflict and what we can do'.
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Students' messages
You can hear directly from the students what they felt they learned, what they
think about the issues, and from the Secretary of State with his impressions of
the visit, by watching these short films from the day.
All students who joined in the events were also invited to send a message to the
Prime Minister and the Secretary of State, which we promised to pass on. Here
are some of them:
"Cancel all third world debt and encourage more use of fair trade."
"Britain must face up to its overseas commitments and stop global warming."
 "The
governments in developing countries should be doing more to help their
countries, and not to spend money inappropriately, e.g. for weapons as they
encourage war."
"Cancel developing countries' debt, they can only develop at a good rate if they
have use of all their resources."
"I have realised today just how well the Government is doing to tackle poverty
and I only hope they can carry on in this manner."
"Encourage powerhouse economies like China and India to curb their addiction to
oil, just as the world is turning away from theirs."
"I think a lot is being done to help other countries, but why haven't the
governments been meeting together more often to talk about the problems?"
"More should be done to meet the targets of providing aid to 'make poverty
history'. It doesn't just affect the people in third world countries, it affects
every country in the UN so I believe everyone should take part in helping."
"Keep development as a top priority. Increase the pressure that you can apply on
other developed nations to increase their aid and also to drop the debt."
"I think what is being done in developed countries is brilliant."
"Do more to influence UK citizens and other countries to get involved."
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Links
If you would like to learn more, follow the links below.
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Directgov |
