Students Support Sierra Leone

Last week Empathy Action returned to Headington School in Oxford to run ‘The Poverty Trap’ simulation for a group of 13-14 year-old students. The event coincided with the news that money raised by students from last year’s simulation had funded the transportation of a container of Ebola medication to Sierra Leone in West Africa.

A Pallet of Pills

The immersive activity, which the Headington School Geography department has now hosted three years in a row, moved last year’s particpants to get involved in various fundraising activities as a response to what they had experienced. Empathy Action directed the kids’ generous donation of £275 to International Health Partners, a charity that distributes medicines to countries where they are needed the most. The money was used to pay for the cost of shipping a pallet of de-worming drugs for children to a clinic in the north of Sierra Leone. Staff at the clinic responded with this message of thanks to the pupils at Headington for their support.

Perspective on Poverty

The simulation which inspired this action is designed to provide a view of poverty that cannot be gained from simply reading statistics. Head of Geography, David Cunningham said,

‘My own experience of facing the reality of poverty in Ethiopia left me profoundly moved and changed my outlook on life. Empathy Action’s ‘Poverty Trap’ simulation is the closest thing I’ve experienced to those realities without leaving the country. It is a fantastic opportunity for pupils to gain a unique insight into these problems in a way they would otherwise not get.’

Please get in touch with us if you are interested in hosting an immersive, interactive experience at your school, place of work or community centre, we’d love to hear from you.