Can a change of clothes change a future?
Holy Cross Primary School is sending sports uniforms to Zimbabwe, along with the hope of bringing pride to disadvantaged children, writes Lorraine Ashley School uniforms. Most Aussie kids wear them. For some children the buttons can be fiddly...
Holy Cross Primary School is sending sports uniforms to Zimbabwe, along with the hope of bringing pride to disadvantaged children, writes Lorraine Ashley
School uniforms. Most Aussie kids wear them.
For some children the buttons can be fiddly, others find the fabric unbearably itchy and the tucking in frustrating! Love them or loathe them, school uniforms have been worn in Australia since the late 19th century. Wearing a uniform is thought to help remove economic barriers, allowing students to take pride in their appearance, and build feelings of community and belonging.
Holy Cross Primary School’s recent upgrade of their school sports uniform has shone a light on the impact of wearing a uniform to foster school spirit and student pride.
With an abundance of leftover uniforms, the School’s P&F arranged a courier to transport the superseded uniform to Aussie Books for Zim, a charity supporting literacy and community development in Africa. More than 50 large bags containing the uniform pieces are now destined for delivery to disadvantaged parts of rural Zimbabwe. Being sent with the uniforms is the school community’s hope of instilling pride and self-confidence in local children.
Aussie Books for Zim, a charity based in Canberra, has been working tirelessly to improve literacy in disadvantaged communities, and to empower children with the knowledge and confidence to help shape the world they live in. This team of passionate volunteers works to raise funds to transport used donated books, destined for Australian landfill, to rural Zimbabwean communities. To date, they have established nine libraries and shipped 90,000 books and stationery items to children living in the most remote Zimbabwean communities.
Dr Alfred Chidembo, founder of Aussie Books for Zim, is confident that the addition of school uniforms to a community can bring about a change. “It is so humbling when communities and schools in Australia rally together to support those in need on the other side of the world. Sometimes we do not realise that what we may consider trash here in Australia may be a treasure for a child in rural Zimbabwe, setting them up for life in a way we may never imagine.”
Dr. Chidembo knows first-hand the life-changing power of education. He grew up in one of Zimbabwe’s poorest regions, walking to school barefoot as a six-year-old. An opportunity to move to the city and spend time in the local library saw him develop a love of reading and learning. He went on to further education, including completing a doctorate in electrochemistry, escaping the cycle of poverty.
