St Joseph's Nudgee College

May 2, 2008

Years 5-9 students walked 6.6km from the Shorncliffe Pier back to Nudgee College for the "Walk to the Philippines: Making the Connection" fundraising project.

The "Walk to the Philippines: Making the Connection" student initiative is a St Joseph's Nudgee College social justice project.

A group of Year 10 students and a number of staff will travel to the Philippines in August to build on relationships with schools in the Philippines' Kabankalan Diocese on the island of Negros.

Nudgee established these relationships last year when the college sent twelve Year 10 students and three staff members to the area.

Philippines Project Coordinator Matt Hawkins said Four Australian Christian Brothers live and work in the area and in forming the relationships, the college believes we have a role to play in assisting our new friends to reach similar levels of educational opportunity that we receive here in Australia.

"In the five schools with which we twin in the Philippines, there are very few computers, and no internet access. With funds, both of these issues can be rectified, which is where the "Walk to the Philippines: Making the Connection" project comes in," he said.

The College aims to raise in the vicinity of $50,000 through a variety of methods. All Year 5-9 students at Nudgee College will begin to raise money for the project with their sponsorships packs.

In an act of solidarity, students at St Columban's Academy in Cauayan, Negros, will also complete a walk on May 2, 2008. Students from St Columban's Academy will be on school holidays at the time but all have agreed to come back to complete the walk.

"It is our goal that together, Nudgee and St Columban's students will cover the distance that separates our two schools, hence the name of the event: 'Walk to the Philippines: Making the Connection'," Mr Hawkins said.

"This is also a reference to our goal of providing internet access for the five schools, which in turn would facilitate not only more equitable educational opportunities, but also a far more effective communication method between Australian and Filipino students," he said.