The pupils at Bethany School near Goudhurst are keen to raise awareness and learn more about the effects of 
poverty, so with this in mind they have meticulously planned and organised an innovative ‘poverty day’.
The Head of School Jamie Hagerty from Hawkhurst said, “As Bethany is a private School those that are lucky enough to attend, find themselves in a much more comfortable position than the majority of people in the world today.
We want to highlight and explore certain themes which are all linked to poverty so we have planned our ‘poverty day’ to bring home the message to both pupils and staff alike.
At the same time we will be fundraising to support Barnardo’s, Comic Relief and Battembang Orphanage in Cambodia.”
The themes for the day will be:-
No electricity
- 1.6 billion people worldwide live without electricity. (1)
This means no electric lighting, no electric heating, no electric cookers or appliances, no electronics like computers, TV’s and phones.
To see what this is like, we are going to turn off the electricity within the School for the day. This means the use of lights, laptops, projectors, kettles, and even heating will not be used during the School day. The School will make a £250 donation to the Barnardo’s charity which will be the approximate amount of electricity saved during the day.
Food shortages
- In 2010 there were 925 million hungry people in the world. Poverty is the principal cause of hunger. (2)
- Every year 15 million children die from hunger. The World Health Organisation estimates that one third of the world is well fed, one third is under fed and one third is starving. About 183 million children weigh less than they should for their age. (3)