College Students Join Forces to Relieve Suffering of Victims of Natural Disaster

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Art and Design Students from Gorseinon College have responded enthusiastically to a request to make what are called “Comfort Dolls” for children in Pakistan who were affected by the recent earthquake.

The scale of the earthquake, and the scale of the suffering that has ensued, has shaken much of the rest of the world into action. The earthquake struck northern Pakistan and many parts in Afghanistan and India. It brought widespread destruction and loss of life and home, and was indiscriminate in its destruction. Many of the victims were school children. The international community is extending its help in a number of areas, and the students” initiative is one of these.

iEARN Request

The request came from the International Education and Resources Network (iEARN) Community, which is a registered charity in the UK aiming to enable young people in schools and colleges to use the Internet to engage in collaborative projects. The iEARN community was asked to comfort the victims through art and creativity.

Eileen Cox, the Key Skills Co-ordinator at Gorseinon College, spoke of the project, saying: “As always, our students responded immediately to this plea for help. The group volunteered to undertake additional workshops and worked against the clock to create more than 30 dolls, which will be sent out to Pakistan in the next few days.”

The students are also joining their fellow students (in A Level Government and Politics) in a project on Natural Disasters at the Dysg One World Key Skills Youth Conference at the DVLA Conference Centre in Swansea on 22nd March. Eileen went on to say: “In the process, the students have also developed their key skills in Working with Others and Problem Solving, together with a unit of their BTEC National Diploma in Fine Art.”

Jethro Marsh

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