Ballintotas National School
Charities
Ms. Readathon - each year the children are sponsored to read books by their relatives and friends during the month of November each year. The money raised goes towards the Multiple Sclerosis Association of Ireland.
Bóthar
Yak
In 2001 the pupils raised £250 to send a goat to Africa.
Bóthar is an Irish Third World development agency, which provides poverty-stricken families with the means to solve their problems permanently. It does this by giving a family a dairy cow, dairy goat or a flock of chicks together with the training and support which enables them to look after them properly.
Milk or meat not only provides an entire family with a balanced diet for the first time, but the surplus can be sold. This offers the family their first opportunity to earn income. This income allows them to live more comfortably and also to pay for their children's education, which is usually not free in these countries.
Bóthar was established in 1991 under the chairmanship of T.J. Maher, M.E.P. It is modelled on an American system called H.P.I. (Heifer Project International) which has been working since 1944.
When it first began, Bóthar concentrated on sending Irish in-calf heifers to poor countries such as Uganda and Cameroon. The most deserving families are selected in advance by special village committees, and are given training in how to care for the animal correctly from the point of fodder, housing and veterinary attention.
Yak
Yak are a species of cattle Bos grunniens, Family Bovidae, which lives in wild herds at high altitudes in Tibet. It stands about 2 m (6 ft) at the shoulder and has long shaggy hair on the under-parts. It has large, upward-curving horns and humped shoulders, It is in danger of becoming extinct.
In the wild, the yak is brown or black, but the domesticated variety, which is half the size of the wild form, may be white. It is used for milk, meat, leather, and as a beast of burden. The yak is protected from extremes of cold by its thick coat and by the heat produced from the fermentation in progress in its stomach.
This year the pupils hope to raise £300 to sent two Yak to a poor family in Ethiopia.
Many fundraising activities were organised during lent and include:
Date Activity Organised by:
22-2-2002 Fortune telling Emma Daly, Kelly Motherway & Eden Mulcahy
20-2-2002 Basket ball Eamon O'Neill, Damien McAuliffe & David Barry
21-2-2002 Treasure Hunt Joey O'Connor
22-2-2002 Asteroids Beater Ciaráin Curtin
22-2-2002 Table Quiz Eamon O'Neill, Damien McAuliffe, Jamie O'Mahony & David Barry
22-2-2002 Running Races Joey O'Connor & John French
25-2-2002 Treasure Hunt Fergal Duffy, Finbarr O'Mahony, Simon O'Brien & Patrick O'Mahony
28-2-2002 Chess Brian O'Tuama, James Cooney & Peter Hanley
28-2-2002 Look-a-like Orla Furlong & Yvonne Ellard
1-3-2002 Colouring Competition Kate O'Brien & Danielle O'Shea
4-3-2002 Soccer Jodie Moran & Rebecca O'Connor
4-3-2002 Penalty Shootout John French & Joey O'Connor
5-3-2002 Soccer Rebecca O'Connor & Jodie Moran
7-3-2002 Bake Sale Jodie Moran & Rebecca O'Connor
11-3-2002 Tennis tournament Fergal Duffy, Simon O'Brien, Finbarr O'Mahony & Patrick O'Mahony
12-3-2002 Obstacle Course Rebecca O'Connor & Jodie Moran
27-3-2002 Face Painting Eden Mulcahy, Emma Daly & Kelly Motherway