Year 4 at Broughton Anglican College participated in the Picasso Cow competition run by Dairy Australia this year. They were given a life-sized fiberglass cow and the theme “Fuel for Life”, which inspired the design they painted on the cow.
Together the class decided to not only think of dairy as important for us in Australia, but also in the context of the developing world. They decided to combine raising the profile of dairy in the diet, with the charity work of ChildFund Australia.
The year 4 students thought up ways to raise funds to buy a real cow for a family in East Timor. They started by allowing everyone at the school to vote on the name of the cow. Students voted on one of three choices by putting a gold coin in the money box of their chosen name. Milkshake was the winning name!
The name sparked more fundraising opportunities, including a Mad Scientist Milkshake Day, a milkbar for dairy sales and a gold coin ‘longest line’ competition between all the classes.
The students then submitted their cow into the competition. “We were very happy to be awarded a second place in the Macarthur region,” says teacher Julie Schulz. “We were also very happy to have raised enough money for three cows, and enough left over to browse the catalogue and choose more things to buy!”
Since the eruption of political unrest in April last year, an estimated quarter of a million people in East Timor – mainly women and children – have been forced to flee their homes. While many have returned home, some families remain in displaced person camps around the capital of Dili.
In support, ChildFund Australia’s affiliate organisation in East Timor has been operating Child Centred Spaces in the camps, aimed at giving children some sense of order and a safe haven during the turmoil.
These spaces give children increased chances of survival and protection from abuse, as well as opportunities for education and recreation. ChildFund in East Timor has also provided clean and accessible water and systems for the safe disposal of human waste within the camps.
Separately, ChildFund in East Timor launched a new Early Childhood Development Program in 2006. The program focuses on giving teachers vocational training on child learning methodologies, as well as giving mothers and other caregivers information on home-based care for young children. Nutrition education is also made available to those caring for children, including mothers and nurses.
This knowledge will be passed from generation to generation as more caregivers understand the importance of nutrition and education on children’s development. Caregivers are now more able to get help if their child is not developing – they know that early intervention is needed.
These manuals have been developed and translated into Tetum. These quality training materials will be a sustainable legacy of this program, being available for future teachers, nurses and mothers. Community based organisations will continue to support mothers groups to improve home-based care.
More than 3,000 children have benefited from the program through the training and support of 83 Early Childhood Development Teachers.
