Georgia is on their minds for special day

Jun 3 2009 by Robert Mitchell, Wishaw Press

PUPILS from Thornlie Primary will be addressing an international conference with delegates from Austria, Brazil, India and the US on the ties they have built up with children in Georgia.

The International Social Capital Conference is in its third year and the Pather youngsters have been invited along to the event in Lanark tomorrow (Thursday).

In August 2008, staff and pupils at Thornlie Primary decided to embark on a project that would link them with a Georgian village school and orphanage and the conference wants to hear about their success.

Head teacher David Hughes said: “People are coming from all over the globe, and we’re the only school invited so the children have done remarkably well. They’ll be making a presentation and performing at the end of it.

“The conference is about social enterprises, where the end result isn’t necessarily a financial one, and the children have established a lot of useful links. Some of the charity aspects are very worthwhile.”

Colin Campbell is the Chief Executive of Assist Social Capital – the organisation behind the event – and he said: “The issues discussed at this conference will be relevant to the people of Wishaw as well as communities all over the world.

“Social capital can help to develop stronger communities and even promote social and economic generation, and this is why both central and local governments are taking more notice of the concept and how it can be developed. It contributes to the resilience and resourcefulness of communities, things that are seen as being particularly important in these challenging economic times.

“Discovering how social capital can be used to benefit Wishaw and contribute to its continued development is something the delegates will be hoping to take home with them.”

The Pather school recently held a Georgian open day after they became experts in the country’s singing, dancing, cooking, costumes and wildlife during their project. And the special guest at the event was Georgia cultural attache Nino Sanadze, who flew up from her country’s London embassy especially to meet the children.

And most impressive of all, the children’s efforts have raised over £1000 which will go towards humanitarian work in the orphanage which the school has links with, in particular contributing towards a life-saving operation for a 10-year-old called Datuna.

The school will address delegates at social capital conference The New Lanark Heritage Centre tomorrow. Organisers say the concept of social capital refers to the personal relationships and networks that every individual is part of, and how we interact with these networks and how we perceive our environment, ultimately shapes the communities we live in.

GEORGIA ON MY MIND: pupils from Thornlie Primary at their recent Georgia open day.