Trόcaire launches climate change campaign alongside Ballymaguigan school
The charity has launched an eye-catching campaign alongside County Derry School St. Trea's Ballymaguigan.
Trócaire has launched an eye-catching campaign alongside County Derry School St. Trea's Ballymaguigan.
The striking image of pupils sitting at their desks in the middle of the submerged water of Lough Neagh has turned heads.
The image highlights the effect climate change is having not only the world but our own society.
Lough Neagh still continues to be an ongoing issue of pollution. The Lough has high levels of blue-green algae which is extremely toxic. The algae are in fact bacteria, which can cause skin irritation and sickness in people who come into contact with it, but the biggest risk is to pets, livestock and wildlife.
Principal of St. Trea’s Primary School in Ballymaguigan, Mr Conall Lavery, spoke to the County Derry Post about how the idea for the striking image came about.
“David got in touch with us about working with the children to create an image and we were more than happy to take part. We are a school beside Lough Neagh so it was very fitting for us to be involved. The idea was totally different and inspired us to get on board. The image combines the effect of climate change in the third world along with the devastating effects on Lough Neagh. All of my P7 pupils expressed an interest in being part of it so we put all their names into a hat and picked out two boys and two girls. They did a wonderful job and we were delighted to be asked to be part of the campaign. Trócaire is a wonderful charity and we are happy to do what we can to support them during this season of lent. We do our best in terms of local citizenship and the children are aware of the world around them and the need to help as much as they can,” Mr Lavery said.
As they launch their annual Trócaire Box appeal for Lent this month, the charity says that children all over the world are being denied an education because of the effects of the climate crisis. More than 242 million students in 85 countries had their schooling disrupted by extreme climate events in 2024. These included heatwaves, tropical cyclones, storms, floods and droughts, exacerbating an existing learning challenge in developing countries where children already face barriers to education.
Peter Heaney, Trócaire’s Head of Region for Northern Ireland, says this issue is having a profoundly negative impact on children’s futures.
“The communities and families we work with are increasingly affected by erratic weather patterns caused by climate change. The deep injustice of this is that those who have done least to cause the climate crisis, and who have the least capacity to absorb and recover from its impact, or adapt in response, are suffering most severely from its impacts. As many of these rural communities rely on growing and selling crops to earn an income, the loss of livelihood has knock-on effects for families. This is why we are urging the people of Co. Derry to support the Trócaire Box appeal this Lent,” he said.
“Climate disasters disproportionately harm young girls’ education. 12-year-old Miriam from Guatemala, Central America, features on this year’s Trócaire Box with her family. Her mother and father, Ilma and Julio, grow cardamon and corn to earn money for the family. They used to plant crops twice a year but now only plant once because of the extreme weather conditions. A drought devastated their crops which meant they had no income. Miriam was due to go to secondary school, an hour's drive away, but her parents now cannot afford the £5 a week for the bus that would take her there.
“In developing countries, storms and droughts are wiping out livelihoods and often mean that children have to leave school permanently so they can work to help support their families. Countries where people are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change are also regions where children already receive fewer years of schooling. The effects of climate change have had a disproportionate and disastrous impact on children’s education in some of the world’s most fragile countries.
“Climate change could push as many as 130 million people into extreme poverty by the year 2030, wiping out many of the development gains lower-income countries have made. Trócaire supports marginalised rural communities to sustain their livelihoods and to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. This Lent we are asking the people of Co. Derry to help us support communities like Miriam’s as they mitigate and adapt to the effects of the climate crisis so that they can continue farming, protect their homes from flooding, make a fair living from their crops, send their children to school and become more resilient,” added Peter Heaney.
David O’Hare Communications Officer for Trocaire offered his thanks to St. Trea’s for taking part in the project.
“We are so grateful to the pupils and staff at St. Trea's for helping us to raise the profile of our Trócaire Box appeal for Lent. The pupils were really engaged. This appeal is incredibly important for the work we support in some of the world's most vulnerable communities and the people of Derry are always so amazingly generous and supportive,” he said.
In 2023/24 Trócaire supported 2.2 million people across 20 countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. Trócaire’s climate and environmental justice work supported 288,200 people in countries including Guatemala, Honduras, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Malawi, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Syria.
The iconic Trócaire Box – which has been synonymous with Lent in Ireland, north and south, for over 50 years – will be distributed to thousands of homes, schools and churches across Co. Derry this week. Donations can also be made online at trocaire.org or by calling 0800 912 1200.