Write a letter, save a life

Published on isbi School News dated Thursday 19th of December 2013

There is a tradition amongst Sixth Form students at St Benedict's School in Ealing, London that they come together at this time of year to illustrate the true spirit of the festive season. This year the students, led by English teacher Mrs Julie Greenhough, decided to support Amnesty International's annual campaign, 'Write for Rights', in which messages of hope are sent to someone suffering human rights abuses.

Sending a card has a direct and personal response; reminding people they are not forgotten. Mrs Greenhough commented, 'We try to be active Christians and follow the advice of our Chaplain, Dom Thomas, that we show our faith through our actions, not just our words.'

Led by Deputy Head Boy Francesco Orlando the students selected four prisoners to receive cards that contained simple messages of hope: 'We stand with you and your family in your struggle for justice'; 'Hope that you find solace in your time of trouble'; 'They can never hurt your soul.' As Francesco noted, 'In this time of material excess it is important that we take a moment to reflect, think and pray for others.'

The response from the students was overwhelming. Over one hundred cards were posted. As Laura Potier (Lower Sixth) said, 'We used our freedom of expression to stand up for the freedom of others.'