Volunteers from St Margaret’s High helped organise a successful conference in Malawi to educate teachers on the prevention and treatment of rabies.
Representatives of the Airdrie school teamed up with Fred Lohr from Mission Rabies to arrange the event, held in the rural Mulanje region.
The area is one of the worst in the world for child death rates from the disease and the event, sharing lifesaving info on bite avoidance and what to do if someone is bitten, went ahead despite a power cut.
It was attended by 20 teachers and supervisors from the Girls Go For Health project.
The Airdrie visitors also left a lasting impression, with Mikey Snee, Brooke Rennie and Michaela Brunton painting a mural at nearby Mendulo Catholic primary to share the rabies message with pupils and parishioners at the adjacent Saint Joseph’s church.
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The St Margaret’s party also toured the HQ of Blantyre Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, where they sponsored a brick and were invited to volunteer there next year.
A school spokesperson said: “The conference was a success, with scores of teachers and potentially thousands of children now being aware of the dangers of rabies.
“The mural was also a hit as a large group of children were seen and heard reading it out as soon as it was finished.
“It’s fantastic that a group started by first-year students in the school could have such a major impact in one of the worst areas in the world for rabies and could have already saved many lives.”
The mural and conference were funded by sponsors Jimmy Gallacher and Ann McLenaghan of Millbank Decorators, with further contributions to the project made by HC2M Properties, STA Travel and SSUK.
