In the classroom of teacher Teresa Boyd, students have been participating in Share the Dignity’s Christmas campaign, It’s in the Bag.

The staff, and students and their families donated around 20 handbags and filled them with toiletry products such as soap, tampons, hand cream and bath bombs. Some students even included handwritten notes.

The concept behind the initiative is to care for woman who the needs of others before their own and make them feel special.

Ms Boyd said a friend had challenged her to take on the project and the students had done “brilliantly”.

“They’ve really got on board and got excited about it,” she said.

Fellow teacher Vicki Isbester and her geography students have been supporting Living Water International’s Myanmar project by fundraising over a number of months.

Living Water is building water tanks in villages – often near schools – in the dry zone of Myanmar (formerly Burma) so children can go to school instead of spending their days collecting water. 

Rosemary Breen from Inverell visited the school earlier in the year to tell the class about the harsh reality in Myanmar and what Living Water is doing to help.

Ms Isbester said the students were moved by her story and the images she showed and decided they should do something to help.

The class has managed to raise more than $1200 through two “Blue Days” on which they sold blue treats such as lollies, cupcakes, slices and milkshakes. They also conducted a “coin trail”, with the school houses racing to create the letter ‘M’.

With Christmas fast approaching, the class is selling gift vouchers for its final fundraising effort.

“Instead of buying a person, say a Christmas present, if they already have what they need, you give us money and we write a voucher saying the money for your present went to help this project,” student Eliza Richardson said.

“It also opens your eyes to see how good we actually get it here in Australia compared to countries like Myanmar. They’re extremely poor and they don’t have access to water, where all we have to do is turn on the tap.”

Fellow student Zach Bower said the project was a “great experience” and allowed them to raise awareness and help meet a basic need for the people of Myanmar.

Ms Isbester said the project provided the class with an opportunity to “re-dress the unequal access to water and education” they had been learning about.

A tank funded by their efforts will be built in January, with a plaque to acknowledge their assistance.