One World Centre Isle of Man

One World Charity Challenge, the competition for Year 12 students to research and assess a charity working overseas, steps up a gear this month as the youngsters return to school and start working in earnest on their presentations.

Although the competition is now in its ninth year, this is the first year at the helm for Charity Challenge Co-ordinator Helen Kneale who recently took over from the previous co-ordinator Jenni Kneale (no relation!).

Helen, who lives in Regaby with her husband and two teenage sons, has a long-standing interest in international development issues which dates back to the time she spent as a student herself at the UWC Atlantic College in Wales, courtesy of an Isle of Man Government scholarship.

“Being with students from so many different cultures made me understand much more about the differences but more importantly the similarities between people from different backgrounds,” says Helen.

“While I was at the College, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to Sri Lanka, where I undertook some voluntary work in an orphanage, clearing drainage ditches and helping with a medical clinic.

“Seeing another, very different, culture at first hand when I was 16 – the same age as the students undertaking the One World Charity Challenge – had a great effect on me, particularly seeing the contrast in living standards between people in the Isle of Man and those in the developing world.

“It made me more aware that things we take for granted, such as clean drinking water, are not automatically available everywhere in the world.”

Helen believes the One World Charity Challenge competition offers other valuable lessons for the participating students: “The youngsters involved learn many transferable skills, including time management, research, team-work and presentation skills. It is great for the students to include on their CVs and University applications, as this scheme is unique in the British Isles and will therefore be a really good talking point for anyone wishing to go on to further education or get a job off-island.”

The One World Charity Challenge is run by the One World Centre with funding from the H&S Davidson Trust.  Each student team which takes part has the opportunity to win a cash prize for their chosen charity, the actual amount being dependent on the standard of their presentations. In recent years the Isle of Man Government’s International Development Committee has also supported the event and provided matched funding.

For more information go to www.oneworldcharitychallenge.com

This is the One World Centre’s Fairtrade Christmas Tree at Ronaldsway Airport, part of Save the Children’s Festival of Christmas Trees.  It was designed and created by St Thomas’ Primary School, the Island’s only Fairtrade Primary School.

The office will be closed until 4th January, but e-mails may be picked up.

It has been a very full and interesting year, and we would like to thank you for your support and encouragement.  Every good wish for Christmas and 2016.

Last year Lucy Johnson went to Malawi, as the first person to be sponsored under this programme.  She says:

‘My time in Malawi was a truly life changing experience where I made many friends and memories which I will cherish and remember fondly forever. Knowing that I have directly contributed to a local community for the benefit of those less fortunate fills me with an immense sense of achievement. I am extremely grateful to have been given this incredible opportunity and I could not recommend it highly enough for anyone to do.’

All Manx young people who will be 18, but no more than 24, by the time of the expedition they choose are welcome to apply. The sponsor is particularly keen to enable someone who would have little other chance to participate in such a programme.  This is where you can find further information.

In September the Sustainable Development Goals were agreed by the United Nations. There are 17 of them and apply to all countries in the world.  They act as a framework for measuring development and as a challenge to the wealthier nations to both consider their own use of resources and to support the marjority world in escaping poverty.

These goals take over from the Millennium Development Goals, agreed in 2000 with a view to achieving them by 2015.  Although considerable progress has been made, there is still a long way to go before everyone has access to the basic necessities of life.

Students working on the One World Charity Challenge need to demonstrate how the charity they are supporting is working towards at least one of these goals.  The goals will form a framework for the world of the One World Centre.

Justine and her family in Uganda with their local latrine

Excellent news – over 130 toilets have been twinned in the Isle of Man since our Toilet Twinning campaign was launched last year!

The campaign, which was also supported by the World Development Committee of Churches Alive in Mann, gives individuals, families, businesses and other organisations an opportunity to fund a much-needed latrine in a developing country by raising £60 to “twin” their toilet.

Twinners get a certificate with a photograph and the GPS co-ordinates of their twinned toilet to put on display in their own smallest room but the real benefit is to the health and welfare of those benefiting from the donated latrine.

It’s estimated that around 2.5 billion people – that’s 40% of the world’s population – don’t have somewhere safe, clean and hygienic to go to the loo. Not only does this have a devastating impact on human health – every minute a child under the age of five dies from diseases linked to unclean water and sanitation – but there are serious knock-on social and economic effects through time lost at school or work, with women and girls especially affected.

One World Centre Director Rosemary Clarke says: “This is a fantastic response to the campaign. When we started talking about Toilet Twinning a year ago, there were less than a handful of twins on the Island but once again the people of the Isle of Man have risen to the challenge.

“It is so good to know that people here are choosing to make a positive impact on communities in some of the poorest countries in the world – and most twinners are finding their framed certificates make a good talking point with visitors to their homes!”

Toilet Twinning CEO Lorraine Kingsley is delighted to see how twinning has taken off across the Island. “Islanders are clearly on a roll and we can’t thank them enough for their generosity.

“On World Toilet Day in particular, it’s sobering to think how many people worldwide are still waiting for a proper toilet – and it’s a good opportunity to take a moment and appreciate our own loos. Sanitation saves lives and we should never take it for granted.”

For more information on how you can twin your toilet (or purchase a Toilet Twin as a Christmas gift!) visit www.toilettwinning.org

For several years the Isle of Man has enjoyed having Fairtrade Island status, a position which has been supported locally by the general public and which has also enhanced the Island’s reputation in the international arena. It is now time to renew our status.

To help secure this we want to raise awareness of Fairtrade amongst the Island’s business community, demonstrating its role in helping people in less developed countries feed themselves and provide for their families in a sustainable and more equitable way – and how support for Fairtrade complements, rather than competes with, the growing demand for more local food sourcing.

Business support will be vital in helping renew our status and we are holding a presentation in Douglas on Tuesday 10th November to help more businesses get on board. Please get in touch on 800464 or email info@owciom.org if you would like to attend.
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Have a read of our annual report which was presented at our recent AGM.  You might be surprised by the depth and  breadth of some of our initiatives!

Annual Report 2014-2015

If you would like some further information about refugees, you might like to follow some of the links in this Refugee Resource

The One World Centre, supported by the Isle of Man Government’s International Development Committee, is co-ordinating an emergency street collection this weekend for the current refugee crisis.  The money raised will be split between the five aid agencies registered on the Island who are also members of the Disasters Emergency Committee and can make practical use of the funds straightaway to help those in crisis. These agencies are Save the Children, Oxfam, British Red Cross, CAFOD and Christian Aid.  We need more collectors at the various points around the Island – if you can spare an hour or two please let us know on 800464.