Author: Linda Okhuoya-Ologe

Education, Fair Trade Fortnight, Uncategorised

School competition results are in!

Linda Okhuoya-Ologe

As some of you may remember, this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight brought focus to young people and their call for action to slow down the environmental crisis and help those most affected.

To encourage local youth to think about it, Rainbow Turtle has organised a competition for school-aged children. The task was to design a Fairtrade t-shirt that corresponded with the “Choose the world you want” theme.

We are happy to announce, that the winners have been chosen, even though the choice wasn’t easy. We were flooded by the submission and they were all very unique and attractive! We want to thank all the parents, guardians and teachers, who encouraged children to think about Fairtrade and to take part in the competition. We also want to say a huge THANK YOU to all the young people who took part. You are our future leaders and the faith of our planet and its habitants depends also on your choices. We thank you for taking the time to think about the current environmental emergency and about farmers in producers living and working in the global south. You may not be earning, spending and investing money just yet, but Fairtrade is more than just a shopping logo. It’s a movement of people who care about others and sharing that message and awareness is a fantastic way of making sure our guardians, teachers or local and global decision-makers hear your voice and act upon it.

The number of designs and their quality prompted us to split the artworks and prizes into 3 categories: Primary School years 1-3, Primary School years 4-7 and Secondary School.

Congratulations to all the winners and please bear with us, if your prize hasn’t arrived yet. We are working hard to arrange everything so that each of the winners will get a small token of gratitude.

You can see all the winning artworks and a selection of other entries in our shop’s window. It adds a lovely splash of colour to our building 🙂

Below you can see photos of laureates from the secondary school category with their certificates. Their teacher rewarded them with a trip to our shop, where they were able to receive their prizes and certificates in person.

Education, Uncategorised

Competition time!

Linda Okhuoya-Ologe

It’s this time of the year again and Fairtrade Fortnight – the UK’s biggest celebration of all things fair trade, is around the corner. This year the festivities will start on the 21st of February and come to an end on the 6th of March. During these 2 weeks, there will be plenty of opportunities for all people – big or small, to take part in different activities. Across the country, there are online workshops, seminars, cook-alongs, exhibitions and many more.

Here at Rainbow Turtle, we want to start the celebrations by organising a “Design a Fairtrade t-shirt” competition for young people. This year’s Fairtrade Fortnight theme is CHOOSE THE WORLD YOU WANT and we feel that giving young people a voice in the discussion about the world future is fundamental.

So we invite every young person in Renfrewshire and beyond to share their creativity with us. Don’t be shy! Creativity, striking ideas and understanding of the topic are just as important as artistic skills.

WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOUR DESIGNS!

The selected artworks will be displayed in the Rainbow Turtle shop and submitted for the national Fairtrade Fortnight competition organised by Fairtrade Foundation.

You can download the t-shirt template below or pick one up from the Rainbow Turtle shop.

THE DESIGNS HAVE TO BE SUBMITTED BY 4 PM ON THE 26TH FEBRUARY 2022 VIA EMAIL (education@rainbowturtle.org.uk) OR TO THE RAINBOW TURTLE SHOP.

FF22-Tshirt-competition-templateDownload
Uncategorised

Window display

Linda Okhuoya-Ologe

Have you seen our spectacular COP26 window display celebrating cooperation and close connections between consumers and producers and between all of the people around us? We hope so, as time doesn’t slow down and we had to say farewell to our COP display to welcome another wonderful artwork created by very talented Nicola Henry. Nicola is a Glasgow based illustrator, who was kind enough to let us into her world right in the time for Christmas. Come down to the shop to see us and admire Nicolas’s work in full. Besides the wonderful window display, we also have a lot of new stock and we (probably) have everything you need to finish off your Christmas shopping or simply treat yourself during this cold weather.

We have a range of nativity scenes – felt from Nepal, wood and olive wood from Bethlehem (doesn’t get more authentic than this!). On top of that, we have a big range of Christmas tree decorations and of course – TONS OF CHOCOLATE – white, milk, dark, vegan, big bars, mini bars, hearts, coins, elves, angles…you name it!

For those of you looking for more practical gifts, we have a fresh delivery of items made from inner tubes, coffee sacks and lorry curtain fabric: washbags, wallets, sports boot bags, ‘gig’ bags and decorations. For smaller humans we have some new Christmas themed items from Lanka Kade – perfect for Christmas stockings (which you can also get in our shop – Christmas sorted!).

If this doesn’t convince you, I don’t know what will. Our fantastic volunteers know answers to all your questions about the origins of items stocked in the shop. They are also great if you just want to pop by for a little chat. I’m going to risk saying that we have the best volunteers in town! 😀

So get your warm coat, hat and mittens (if you can’t find them, it’s ok, we have some in the shop!) and pop down to see us!

To see more of Nicola Henry’s work please head to her website: https://www.nicolajanehenry.com/ or find her on Instagram at https://instagram.com/nicolajanehenry

Education, Seasonal, Uncategorised

Black History Month

Linda Okhuoya-Ologe

This years’ BLACK HISTORY MONTH is in full swing and I feel one cannot talk about fair trade, climate justice and social justice without talking about Africa and the people that call this beautiful continent home. Many events, both good and bad, shaped the way Africa is today and it is crucial to remember them and recognize their importance, for there is no future without the past. Today, however, I would like to reflect on how we see and how we talk about Africa.

For years, the African continent has been associated with poverty, corruption, political chaos, human rights abuse, various diseases and a lack of both development and ambition. While some of these things are undoubtedly present in parts of the continent, the challenge is to look beyond that, to look beyond media cliches and plain stereotypes, as shrouded behind all these is a beautiful, radiant, vibrant and diverse continent.

When I think of Africa I think about breath-taking scenery, diverse fauna and flora, delicious food and a wonderful variety of musical sounds. I think about all these but mostly, I think about the PEOPLE. It is disdainful to throw African people into one pot as this huge continent has more tribes, cultures, religious beliefs and languages than an average person can comprehend. From this diversity stems the true beauty of Africa. From Tunisia to South Africa, from Senegal to Somalia – Africa is a patchwork of cultures and traditions that are as radiant and thriving today as they were hundreds of years ago. So yes, Africa is a beautiful place that is alive thanks to the people that live there.

It is a popular belief that due to the fact that many African countries struggle with high levels of poverty, only pocket deep donations can overcome this problem. While, arguably, this approach might be relevant in some situations, for instance, environmental catastrophe or even armed conflict resolution, it is my opinion that Africa would indeed benefit from every one of us becoming a conscious citizen. We need to understand the effect our actions have on other people (however far they might be) and the planet. African people are no different to us in the meaning that they work hard to earn the living. The difference is in how that work is valued and treated. If we demand from our leaders to ensure honest, fair and decent pay for work to everyone on every step of the trade chain there will be no need for charity and aid money. To me, this is fundamental in understanding Africa and its people.

Perhaps this is quite obvious, but nonetheless, I would like you to think about those people. Think about people when you are shopping for this warm winter cardigan to prepare for long winter nights. Think about people when you are drinking that life-saving morning coffee to help you get through the day filled to the brim with things that just can not wait, kids that need your attention right now and the boss that wanted this paper on his desk yesterday. Think about people when you are making the comforting bowl of curry and rice for the dinner. Think about people when you are buying flowers for someone you care about. Think about people, as they make all these possible. Is this why they deserve to be treated fairly and with respect? No. They deserve to be treated as our equals because that is who they are. Being human is enough to deserve respect. Borders, different skin tones or a different way of saying ‘hello’ don’t change that. We need to treat people fairly because they are people.

So please, instead of thinking about poverty think about equality, instead of feeling pity think about fairness. Let’s stand up for human rights – this October and for as long as it’s needed.