Year 8 Slum Survivor

As part of their cross-curricular activity, “Slum Survivor,” year 8 students slept out on the school oval in cardboard constructions on Thursday night. The students were placed in three groups named after three of the world’s largest urban slums: Dharavi in Mumbai, India; Orangi in Karachi, Pakistan; and Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya. They then completed a variety of activities over two days designed to help them understand, in a very small way, how some of the world’s poorest people live.

Students then engaged in activities to build their empathy, teamwork, creativity, problem-solving skills, and resilience. They used recycled material to make a toy, musical instrument, or home decorations. They worked in groups to learn a dance. They washed clothes, peeled potatoes, walked for water, and learned about the problems associated with global inequality. The event also had a guest speaker from St. Vincent de Paul, who spoke about the causes of homelessness in Australia and the charity’s work.

The main activity was the sleepout, which required the students to build their own sleeping accommodations from cardboard on the school oval. Designs ranged from a single piece of cardboard on the ground to well-engineered deluxe lodgings with cling-wrap windows. It was wonderful to see the positive way each student undertook the activities and their desire to understand the important social issues of homelessness and global inequality.

A Year 8 fundraising page has been set up to support Vinnies and the wonderful work they do in Australia to combat homelessness.If you would like to donate, the fundraising page can be found here. https://my.fundraise.vinniesnsw.org.au/vinnies-school-sleepouts/year-8-fort-street-2022-school-sleepout

Mr Chapman