When children are turning seven, they usually have a long list of toys and trinkets on their birthday wish list. When Freya from Roseville College was in Year 2, she only had one thing on hers: that her friends and family would donate to Shalom Pre and Primary School in Tanzania in lieu of buying her gifts.
Now in Year 5, Freya says that she has always been struck by the need of girls like her who are in such a different situation. “Birthday parties usually have lots of presents,” she says.
“I wanted to help people in our bigger community who were struggling.”
Roseville College was where she first heard about Anglican Aid’s partnership with Helen Hoskins, and her work in establishing the Shalom and Bunda Girls schools.
Says school chaplain Natasha Clark: “A Christian education is about more than just learning about God – it is about our whole self growing to be more like Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve”.
The partnership with Anglican Aid allows Roseville students to be part of something bigger: a friendship between two school communities which, despite different contexts, are united by Christian purpose to nurture and educate young women under God.
“What started as a small community connection has grown into a bigger part of our school life, with Kindergarten, Year 7 and Year 12 sponsoring students [attending Bunda and Shalom schools],” Mrs Clark says. “It is wonderful to have Helen visit our school and update us on Shalom and Bunda and these students. Helen gives the girls direct insight into the realities facing girls around the world, and how their actions can make an immediate impact on a girl who doesn’t have the access to the opportunities they enjoy.”
These insights are what led to Freya’s bold birthday decision. “I wanted my birthday party to be a bit different,” she says. “It is important because every person deserves the chance to fly. [These girls] should all have an education and the world should be a better place.”
Freya believes it is important to learn about schools like Shalom and Bunda.
“We need to learn how to change the world, and learn that we can make a difference in someone’s life. Even doing simple things can have a big impact on the world. The students at Bunda are children like us. We are all just young people.”
