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In our latest blog by Danny Sweeney, Social Justice Coordinator with Justice & Peace Scotland, Danny reflects on the enriching experiences he enjoyed volunteering overseas and why similar opportunities look increasingly unlikely for young people from the UK today. 

“A life unlike your own can be your best teacher” 

This quote is ascribed to St. Columban; the 6th century Irish missionary and reflects my own life’s journey.

The experiences I had as a volunteer in India with the Salesians of Don Bosco and teaching in China for The British Council remain some of the most formative of my adult life. 

These experiences led me to Malawi where I led a team for Progressio on the International Citizen Service scheme. ICS was built on previous schemes and was launched by David Cameron.  It was inspired by the US’ Peace Corp programme intended to give opportunities to young people who otherwise wouldn’t have them to experience the wider world, learn about the work done in international development, and develop their own skills while doing so. Like all of these kinds of schemes the participants gain far more in experience than we realistically contribute to the programmes visited. From a financial viewpoint this is wasteful, for what that experience can give you; priceless. 

ICS was quietly shut down last month, and now Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) (who had been the lead partner in ICS) are facing the end of much of their other work. VSO’s experience in connecting skilled professionals with international development over 60 years appears to be the latest victim as this government continues its’ shameful attacks on international solidarity; the abolition of the Department for International Development and the slashing of that budget. Seen as part of the petty nationalist outlook of the current administration this is not a surprise; albeit it is a disgrace to see our country abandon an outstanding soft power asset (if one thinks like a diplomat) and our duty to our brothers and sisters in the global south (if one thinks of our social teaching). 

I fear something far more sinister is happening. Robbing young people of the chance to experience what Columban described be it through the shutting down of ICS, or the choice (and it was a choice) to deny future students involvement in the Erasmus Scheme the government seems set to ensure that those best teachers be put out of reach of our young people. 

I am not someone who believes that everything about other cultures is better; in my travels I have seen things which appalled me, as well as those which inspired. This, surely, is the point of the learning that comes from living amongst another culture. With all this coming in the same week that the government rushed through a policing bill which effectively removes the right to protest it begs the question as to what future this government is planning for our young people? 

Denied the chances to learn from other cultures and denied the right to protest against the injustices this government is heaping upon them.

St Columban – pray for us!

Sr Margaret Rose Bradley SND reflects on one easy way to use less plastic in our latest blog.

...Or you may prefer coffee but I want to concentrate more on tea.

I once read about a lovely Gran who dried out all her teabags and gave them to her grandson. It seemed to be a rather unusual thing to collect for her grandson until I read a bit more. He loved to play with his toy soldiers and his caring Gran kept all her dried teabags so that he would have sandbags to shore up any walls that were about to fall down or use them when flooding was a possibility. A child’s imagination can travel many roads even with dried out teabags.

Quite often I see published hints for gardens and gardening on-line. A popular one is a hint to put your used teabags round your plants in your garden or in plant pots but this is a plea to ask you not to do that and to discourage anyone else from doing that. Many of the tea bags we buy and use actually contain PLASTIC. Strange but true. Plastic in the garden can cause harm and problems for your dogs and cats. Problems are also caused for any wildlife and birds who visit your garden. The plastic can be eaten by all these creatures that then become ill and may not survive. Through the food chain we too could be eating plastic.

Keeping teabags out of the garden maybe a small point but an important one.  And on the matter of tea bags. Many of the tea bags we buy contain plastic but the manufacturers don’t always declare it. Some time ago a television programme drew attention to the fact that some tea bags contain plastic. I don’t have a lot of information but I do know of 2 producers of tea bags whose products do not contain any plastic. These are Twinings and PG Tips.

There has been so much for us all to contend with this year and sometimes it takes a lot of effort to get anything done. But this information has encouraged me to make one resolution for the year 2021. I am only going to buy PG Tips teabags from now on and not Tetley for example. It shouldn’t take too much effort to manage this and I will feel I am able to do something about the war on plastic.

Maybe this is one thing we could all consider for this new year of 2021.
 

Professor Stephen McKinney reflects on how Covid has exacerbated the difficulties faced by children living in poverty.  Justice & Peace Scotland blog.

Covid-19 has had a major impact on school education in Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom. The lockdowns have resulted in the schools being closed to the majority of children and young people. The schools have remained open for the children of key workers and vulnerable children only. Many children are engaged in home learning which can involve being taught online or being provided with learning resources. 

There has been considerable media attention focussed on the long-term effects of school closures, the reconfiguration of assessment in public examinations and the stresses of home learning for children, teachers and parents.

As schools begin to cautiously reopen, there are indications that increased numbers of young people are suffering from mental and physical health problems. Many children feel isolated and there may be new stresses in the home environment. There may be limited space in the home and insufficient numbers of devices that can access the internet. The restrictions and lockdowns have exacerbated pre-existing problems and there has been an increase in some forms of extreme behaviour. Recent reports, for example, have focussed on the disturbing rise in self harm among young people. 

The pandemic has highlighted the serious plight of those children who are living in poverty. Around a quarter of the children in Scotland live in poverty and this figure is growing. There has been a rise in public and civic awareness of the extent of poverty and child poverty in Scotland in recent years. The proliferation and variety of food banks is a highly visible indicator of poverty in contemporary Scotland. Food banks have recorded a significant rise in uptake over the last five years and have struggled to cope with the demand for food during the pandemic.

There is one group of children which deserves to receive more public attention and understanding: young carers. A young carer is somebody who is under 18 and who has caring responsibilities. The young carer may be as young as five years old and, in some cases, even younger.  Children who live in poverty are more likely to have caring responsibilities. There are over 44,000 young carers in Scotland and the figure is probably higher because some children do not recognise themselves as young carers – they simply see themselves as looking after other people. Caring can be for a parent (or both parents) who is physically or mentally ill or who has a disability or suffers from addiction.  The caring duties can include support in dressing and attending to the domestic chores. It can mean providing emotional support for an adult and often means caring for the daily needs of younger siblings. The caring duties can mean that the young carer is late for school or unable to complete homework in time. The Children’s Society adds that one third of young carers have mental health issues. During periods of restrictions and lockdowns the caring duties of some young carers have become intensified and they feel increasingly isolated and disconnected from their friends. 

Professor Stephen McKinney is the leader of Pedagogy, Praxis and Faith, a Research and Teaching Group, in the School of Education University of Glasgow. He is member of the Archdiocese of Glasgow Commission for Justice and Peace.  Professor Stephen McKinney Is one of the panel members at our online event on Sunday 7th March - 'Poverty & Pandemic' looking at the impact of the pandemic and asking how the church can be ready and prepared in our communities to meet the challenges.   Book your place to join us here Poverty & Pandemic Tickets, Sun 7 Mar 2021 at 16:30 | Eventbrite