A teacher at St Mary’s CIW Primary School in Brynmawr has received a diamond award for his dedication and innovative schools work for international development charity Christian Aid.

The award came as a surprise to John Meredith, who has been championing Christian Aid’s work and its educational resources at the school and in many other schools across South Wales for some years.

It was presented at the school assembly last week by Head Teacher Mr Darren Jones and Christian Aid’s Regional Coordinator Mari McNeill.

The diamond awards are a way of the charity marking the dedication of its supporters at a time when it is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its annual fundraising drive.

Each Christian Aid Week, Mr Meredith prepares a week of learning about global issues so that each class is involved. This May the students spent a week learning about the refugee situation worldwide and how as a school they can help.

Head teacher Mr Darren Jones said, “Mr Meredith has been a driving force behind the school’s learning about values, global issues, sustainability and Christian Aid’s work. Each Christian Aid Week it is great to see the students learning in depth about issues of global poverty and getting to grips with the role they can play as global citizens.

“The students were very excited to see him receive this award. He is a constant encouragement to us all, teachers and students alike, and well deserving of this award.”

Mr Meredith thank the head teacher and all the students for nominating him and said it was a great privilege to receive this recognition.

“I firmly believe in the work Christian Aid does and it is great that we can be a part of that work of insisting that the world can and must be swiftly changed to one where everyone can live a full life, free from poverty,” he said. “I am a firm believer that one of the key ways to see this realised is through education. The resources that Christian Aid produces for schools help us deepen our understanding of our values as church schools, such as love, solidarity, dignity, respect, justice and stewardship.

“Christian Aid Week also gives us a wonderful opportunity to link with local churches and groups in the community to help raise funds to help many lives out of situations of hardship and poverty.”

Every May, thousands of supporters take the streets – for door-to-door collections, bake sales, sponsored walks, abseils, among many other events – to raise money to support people around the world living in poverty.

Christian Aid’s Regional Coordinator, Mari McNeill said, “Without the dedication of our supporters, like John and the students at St Mary’s CIW Primary School, we wouldn’t be able to do the work that we do. It is vital that young people learn about current world issues and the role they can play in tackling big issues such as the refugee crisis and the impact of climate change on the worlds’ poor.

“Right now, Christian Aid is tackling poverty in around 40 countries, including providing support to refugees and food and water to those on the brink of starvation across East Africa where the lives of 16 million people hang in the balance.”