Just A Second in Moville

Graphic Harvest produced as part of the Just A Second Schools project in 2015. Drawing by Eimear McNally
Graphic Harvest produced as part of the Just A Second Schools project in 2015. Drawing by Eimear McNally

At the end of April,  Afri’s Co-ordinator Joe Murray and Choctaw Gary White Deer travelled to Moville for a ‘Just a Second’ event, as part of our WorldWise Global Schools Project.  The ‘Just a Second’ educational programme focuses on the absurdity of  in excess of €40,000 being spent every second on war and weapons while a billion people suffer from hunger, lack of clean water and adequate housing.  We began by walking from Moville Community College to the Quays. This was the departure point for many people from Donegal and surrounding areas who  emigrated down through the years, often because of poverty or famine.  We were joined there by Rose Kelly and students from Scoil Eoghain. We had music, poetry and readings focussed on those who are being forced from their their homelands today as a result of poverty, war and climate change. Following this moving event, participants walked back to Moville Community College where we planted a mountain ash together with students and teachers and then had a short seminar touching on issues to do with climate change, militarisation, famine and forced migration.

This year’s Just A Second schools project also included, as in previous years, a Galway dimension – having commenced with a new partnership with Mount Temple secondary school in Dublin in the first school term with the students there creating a call to action on climate change for world leaders  ahead of COP21.  A graphic harvest (see above) recorded the work done during this part of the project. Afri continued to work with 3 schools in Galway as part of our second-level educational programme, which is funded by WorldWise Global Schools.   This year’s project had a strong focus on teacher training – with a day long training in Dublin on the project themes in March as well as the launch of another educational resource for teachers in December – Pathways of Peace by Rose Kelly (available to buy from Afri).

Below is a short film about the work in the Galway schools, with a focus on the Celia Griffin Famine Walk and the educational seminar held in March in the Galway Bay Hotel, which had contributions from Spunout.ie founder Ruairí McKiernan, Choctaw Gary White Deer, a theatre performance by Katie O’Kelly, music by RoJ as well as workshops by our Just A Second facilitators Gráinne O’Neill and Pete Mullineaux.  Film made by RoJ.

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