LIMERICK’S caring young primary pupils have been passing on the important message of Fairtrade, using their creative talents to design Christmas cards.
And students from across the county learned that climate change makes Fairtrade’s work more important than ever – a message that was shared as pupils visited Limerick City and County Council Headquarters at Merchant’s Quay to promote Fairtrade and celebrate Fairtrade Limerick’s 19th birthday.
As part of the event, pupils aged six to 18 made Christmas cards with Fairtrade messages to help celebrate the festive season and send out an important message.
Mayor John Moran told the pupils that “choosing Fairtrade means you care about how the product was produced, who produced it, and what benefit they get. By choosing to support Fairtrade, you can add your voice to demands for a trade system that puts people, not profit, at the heart of the transaction. Our voices become louder when we speak together.”
He said that Fairtrade “means taking a look behind the brands and getting to the real story behind the product. Your amazing designs for these cards will help spread these messages in such a visible way. Thank you all for participating in the competition and congratulations to those who took home prizes this year.”
Dolores O’Meara, chairperson of the Fairtrade Limerick City group, added that “many people around the world are struggling because of climate change and economic problems. Farmers in developing countries don’t have the same support we do. Fairtrade helps them by giving them a fair price for their products. This Christmas, please consider buying Fairtrade products to support these farmers.”
Fairtrade is not charity. It helps small farmers in developing countries trade their way out of poverty. Farmers work in co-ops to get fair prices and extra payments for community projects like water pumps and schools.
