MCC Manitoba teaches global awareness

August 15, 2012 | Young Voices
Aaron Epp | Winnipeg
Special to Young Voices

From Vacation Bible School to Bible camp, many children participate in a variety of different activities during the summer. This year, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Manitoba offered a program in the hopes of fostering global awareness among young people. The Summer Global Awareness Program for School Age Children ran throughout July at MCC Manitoba’s headquarters on Plaza Drive in Winnipeg. Aimed at students between Grade 1 and Grade 9, the program engaged participants on the topic of fair trade.

“The goal is to give the kids an opportunity to become more globally aware,” says Arthur Mann, who organized the program as part of his work as MCC Manitoba’s material aid resource centre coordinator.

“We want kids to manage to look beyond themselves and their own world. Especially this year, we want to get them to think about some of the choices they’re making, so when it comes to fair trade, how their choices affect other people. We also want them to think about how their contribution of time or whatever can make a difference globally, so we’re always encouraging them to volunteer.”

One of the four focal points that guides MCC Manitoba’s work is, “To work at being a resource to the Mennonite constituency and beyond at issues that arise from our mission,” and the Summer Global Awareness Program falls under that.

Mann notes that the program used to be called “Jobs for Juniors,” but when he inherited the program three or four years ago, the mandate changed from providing young people with work experience at MCC to a focus on educating them about the work that MCC does.

Mann says each session was tailored to a specific age group. Depending on the age of the participants, the sessions included a talk from a representative from Ten Thousand Villages (TTV) about what fair trade is, and a scavenger hunt in the TTV store next to MCC Manitoba.

Participants also answered questions about their own lives in terms of their access to material goods such as food, water and clothing, which prepared them to watch a video about a child in India. During the video, participants made note of all the things they have in their lives—the internet, a fridge, vehicles, and so on—that the boy in the video does not necessarily have.

“We don’t get too preachy,” Mann says. “We just let [participants] make their own observations.”

Megan Burnett participated in one of the sessions and says learning about how MCC’s work can impact someone’s life made a difference for her.

“Watching the video of [the Indian boy’s] life and seeing how having a sponsor can make such a difference really stuck out for me,” says Burnett, who is entering Grade 8 at École River Heights.

Sammy Crozier, who attended the same session as Burnett, says the Summer Global Awareness Program reminded her of how wealthy she is living in Canada.

“Not everybody has got everything like we do,” Crozier says. “We’re one of the richest countries in the world.” She adds that one thing she learned about fair trade is that it’s important that people are paid a fair wage for the goods they produce.

Burnett says people should question where the products they purchase are coming from, and how they are being produced.

“I think that can make a really big difference,” Burnett says. “Just starting out by asking a question.”

Share this page: Twitter Instagram

Add new comment

Canadian Mennonite invites comments and encourages constructive discussion about our content. Actual full names (first and last) are required. Comments are moderated and may be edited. They will not appear online until approved and will be posted during business hours. Some comments may be reproduced in print.