ALOERIC School welcomed Patrick Kaberia Muthaura, a Fairtrade tea farmer and producer from Kenya to the school last week, as part of Fairtrade Fortnight.
Fairtrade Fortnight is an annual, national event which is aimed at raising awareness of Fairtrade products and the plight of farmers, who without Fairtrade status, live in poverty. This year’s theme has been ‘Breaks’ and the emphasis has been on changing your usual snacks for a Fairtrade products.
In Wiltshire there are more than 600 schools, however only six have registered and affiliated Fairtrade status, including Aloeric Primary School. As part of their ongoing Fairtrade learning, the school has taken part in many events over the last couple of weeks and thought about re-vamping their regular healthy snacks, but already the children’s playtime snack trolley only sells Fairtrade bananas.
Year 4 teacher and the school’s Fairtrade officer, Alison Hodges said, “On Friday 10th March, we welcomed a very special visitor, Patrick Kaberia Muthaura, a Fairtrade tea farmer/producer from Kenya. After eating a Fairtrade lunch with the school representatives, Patrick presented a wonderful assembly to the key stage two children and explained what it is like to live, raise a family and work with the aid of Fairtrade support as a tea farmer in Kenya today. He presented a slide show which explained the whole farming cycle from planting nursery tea bushes to their harvest.
“The children were captivated by his knowledge and charisma. He went on to explain how Fairtrade premium has enabled his community to build a school and a maternity hospital. He also told the children that more than 65 billion cups of tea are drank in Britain every year – that’s a lot of tea!
“Later in the afternoon Patrick met many parents, whilst enjoying a cup of tea and slice of cake. Patrick enthused about the children at Aloeric and their commitment and support of Fairtrade. The special day provided the children with a complete insight into Fairtrade and perfectly completed the fortnight’s learning activities. Aloeric School would certainly welcome Patrick’s return in the future and will continue to campaign on behalf of Fairtrade.”
