Our Journey To End Poverty Day
It was Tuesday morning after storm Ophelia and even though every school in the country was closed, the dedicated Rush and Lusk Educate Together N.S. Green School representatives were at the Rush and Lusk train station ready to do our bit to end poverty!
We bought our tickets and got on the train. Our train took us to Tara Street. Once we reached our destination we started to wander out of the train station towards the poverty stone. On the way we saw the Customs House and stopped to take a few pictures. Then we soon reached the poverty stone to join the other nine groups from Dublin City Centre.
We all gathered around the stone and sat down. We were all there to celebrate UN (United Nations) End Poverty Day. Before it started we were all called over to colour a paper Stop Poverty hand each and we got a special t-shirt to help spread the word about End Poverty Day.
After finishing our masterpieces we sat down again and the ceremony began. There were a lot of speeches made, including one by the Lord Mayor of Dublin. He spoke about poverty in Ireland and how we all need to work together to combat it. He was delighted that so many people made it there despite the storm. There were many other speeches. Lucy Walsh (me) and James Robertson from R.a.L.E.T. N.S. spoke on behalf of the schools that could not make it, while Shaun Dunne and Hailey Lombard introduced our Boat of Hope to the audience. Soon after the speeches we released all of the Boats of Hope, sending out our wishes to end poverty by 2030. The sail of our boat was a patchwork of different squares of material designed by each class. The R.a.L.E.T. boat (Go Go Dermo) quickly started picking up pace before surprisingly taking a sharp left down the canal, never to be seen again! We all said our last goodbyes, and watched the boats slowly drifting away.
Later we returned to our seats and sang along to the song ‘Something inside So Strong’. All the TV cameras were pointing at the small stage where the little group of people stood singing the song. Soon after we shared some cake and sandwiches that were generously offered and we had a well-deserved hot chocolate. Before heading home, we had a quick trip up the river to see the famine ship the Jeanie Johnston. We were all wrecked after a long, exciting day and soon returned back home with a smile on our faces.
By Lucy Walsh
at 5th Class R.a.L.E.T.
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