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Queenswood is an extraordinary place with extraordinary people. It would be our privilege to educate your daughters here.

Disaster Day in association with World AIMS

Tuesday 24 June 2014

On 17 June Sarah Corris from the World AIMS department of the charity All We Can spent the day with Year 9 talking about disasters. Girls started the day by thinking about the devastating effects of a tsunami, and trekked into the woods to build the best shelter that they could with the resources available. The result was four almost waterproof shelters, some with added extras such as washing lines, grass bedding and garden fences!

We then looked at the devastating typhoon that hit the Philippines. All We Can had an initial budget of £350,000 for emergency aid and the girls were asked to decide what to spend it on. £45,000 would buy 1,500 food packages, each sustaining a family for a week. £20,000 will pay a teacher for one year while £3,500 pays 10 doctors for one week. Many decided that a Wi-Fi hub for £35 in order to help coordinate the relief effort was a worthwhile investment, and that buying ID and uniform for relief workers was also vital to ensure security, but often overlooked. There were so many items needed that the task was quite overwhelming.

Finally the girls looked at the problem of flooding in Bangladesh. Much of the land that farmers use to grow crops is now flooded on a regular basis due to climate change and so many go hungry. This situation has been resolved in the country by the design of floating gardens. Huge platforms are built so that crops and livestock can be farmed on top and when it floods the platforms simply float and everything is safe. The girls were asked to design their own models of these floating gardens, which were then tested in a giant paddling pool. The winning group’s raft held 2.8kg before it sank!

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