Christian Service
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stay. He provides a sheltered home for other unfortunate people. I hope to meet with him later in the year and take him bowling.”
his year we began to develop and expand the Christian Service Programme at trinity College with the ultimate aim that in the near future students at all levels of College life will be involved in service with others in need. This programme seeks to make the gospel demand to care for the poor and oppressed a reality which will change the lives of our students, just as it changed the life of Blessed Edmund Rice.
Aaron Zucconi
“The experience for myself took place at the Edmund Rice Refugee Centre. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the week was a visit to Br Olly’s Workshop. There we teamed up with Br Olly and his volunteers to produce wheel chairs that were going to be sent to Vietnam. From the work here I saw how the community can work
Year 11 Programme
together for a great cause. At the Centre one of the challenges I was
This year was the eleventh year of the blessed Edmund Rice Christian Service Programme. All Year 11 students spend one week of the school term giving service to the community in various places where they can interact with people in need. The relationships which develop during the week are very special and the reflections that follow are just a small sample of many profound insights that the students shared through the journals that they kept during the week.
faced with was helping a Spanish speaking man to write a letter in English. Through these tasks I was able to develop gifts such as patience, kindness and willingness to help others. From my week I was able to learn that not everyone is as well off as we are and that maybe one day we will need help too. Matthew Dunstan
“Attending the Cerebral Palsy Centre, meeting so many people, making so many friends and getting really attached to people has
“I was privileged to enter this placement. It was not only an eye opener, as through the helping of others we developed a relationship and bonded with them. It tested a lot of our skills in general such as patience, tolerance, communication and challenged us not just socially but also performing the required tasks correctly. One of the people we met was Brian, a poorly dressed but dignified man. Often I saw him put his boot up on to a bench to do up his laces. He still walks with his head held high. He is often beaten up, and robbed, an innocent and defenceless man. We all spent a few hours during the last day helping him to clean up his place. Although he is naturally an untidy man, his kindness and good heart prevails and even though his small apartment is only fit for one, he invites others to
changed my life. In a way I want to stay and carry on working there because I don’t find it hard to care for these wonderful people. I know that I will be going back there in the future to help out. It’s just such a pleasure to help people in need, making them feel happy and also getting a feeling inside that makes you feel good because of what you have done for others. I think I have found out that there is something about myself that attracts people who need care and I know that I can help because this is what I like doing. Without this experience I wouldn’t have discovered this and I wouldn’t have had people who needed the care come close to me. This experience has changed my life for the better.” Shayn Krop
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