On the 14th of September, 2017, we went to Knock as part of the young Saint Vincent de Paul. We were split into twos and threes and sent to different tables made up of small groups of schools in Connacht. There were over 300 students there. There were four speakers talking to us about problems in the world today and telling us what we can do to make a change.
Father Peter McVerry began by talking to us about homelessness and what struggles they go through that aren't obvious to us. He explained to us that homeless people aren't always drug users or alcoholics even though thats what alot of people think. He told us stories of a few people and cases he has worked with, for example, he told us about a young boy who at the age of six had to go into town everyday before school and buy heroine for his mother and help her inject it each morning. He ended up using heroine at the age of 15 and living on the streets. He explained homelessness from the point of view of a homeless person. For example we tend to look away from homeless people but I didn't realise that makes them feel invisible and worse about themselves. I found Father Peter McVerry very interesting and I really enjoyed his speech.
The next speaker was Dr. Cara Augustenborg. She talked about climate change and told us what changes we have to make to fix the damage done to the earth by global worming. She talked about how she worked at electric picnic to minimize the amount of food and plastic wasted there, for example, how if people brought back their cups they got their deposit back which encouraged people not to throw them away. She mad me realize how we all need to take responsibility for our actions and how we treat our planet.
John Lonegan used to be the head of Mountjoy Prison. He talked to us about community and hows its important to work as a team and do things not always for ourselves but for the best of the community.
Joanne was born with a rare condition that only 6 other people have in the world, Total Amelia. She has no limbs. She made a very inspiring speech. She does not think of herself as "disabled" she calls herself "unique". She was very positive, humorous and determined. She didn't let her condition stop her from living a normal life. She was the most interesting to listen to because she was younger and more lively and interacted with us more. She didn't go into the details of how hard it s to live with her condition, instead she explained her life in a very positive and humorous way. She was very inspiring and made everyone appreciate what hey have in life and made us feel bad for complaining about simple things.
Father Peter McVerry began by talking to us about homelessness and what struggles they go through that aren't obvious to us. He explained to us that homeless people aren't always drug users or alcoholics even though thats what alot of people think. He told us stories of a few people and cases he has worked with, for example, he told us about a young boy who at the age of six had to go into town everyday before school and buy heroine for his mother and help her inject it each morning. He ended up using heroine at the age of 15 and living on the streets. He explained homelessness from the point of view of a homeless person. For example we tend to look away from homeless people but I didn't realise that makes them feel invisible and worse about themselves. I found Father Peter McVerry very interesting and I really enjoyed his speech.
The next speaker was Dr. Cara Augustenborg. She talked about climate change and told us what changes we have to make to fix the damage done to the earth by global worming. She talked about how she worked at electric picnic to minimize the amount of food and plastic wasted there, for example, how if people brought back their cups they got their deposit back which encouraged people not to throw them away. She mad me realize how we all need to take responsibility for our actions and how we treat our planet.
John Lonegan used to be the head of Mountjoy Prison. He talked to us about community and hows its important to work as a team and do things not always for ourselves but for the best of the community.
Joanne was born with a rare condition that only 6 other people have in the world, Total Amelia. She has no limbs. She made a very inspiring speech. She does not think of herself as "disabled" she calls herself "unique". She was very positive, humorous and determined. She didn't let her condition stop her from living a normal life. She was the most interesting to listen to because she was younger and more lively and interacted with us more. She didn't go into the details of how hard it s to live with her condition, instead she explained her life in a very positive and humorous way. She was very inspiring and made everyone appreciate what hey have in life and made us feel bad for complaining about simple things.