STORY - "Ad-dressing real issues"

It’s over ten years since Mark Van Ommen, Maths teacher at St Joseph’s Campus Lochinvar, backpacked through Nepal, Thailand and China. The impact of seeing life in the Third World remained with him, as did his determination to make a difference. Teachers of course have opportunities every day to influence their students in the ways of justice and compassion, and Mark used Lent 2008 to raise his students’ awareness of the conditions under which citizens of the majority world live.

He chose a unique way to do this. His Year 10 Maths students were invited to contribute significantly to Project Compassion. In recognition of their generosity, Mark pledged to ‘wear a dress for a day’. A student chose the outfit from the drama costumes, another selected complementary accessories and the rest of the campus looked on with a mixture of amazement, admiration and awe.

Mark’s initiative was not designed just to shock or amuse, or even purely to raise much needed funds for Caritas, although he has seen “at first hand how a little money can go such a long way”. It was clear to Mark during his travels that “Women were usually the most disadvantaged group. Wearing a dress costs me my dignity for a day, but the dignity of countless women all over the world is compromised every day.” When one student asked, in mock horror, “Sir, where is your dignity?” the impact was obvious.

Mark’s students were eager to comment on his efforts. Dylan Perry concluded that Mr Van Ommen was “showing his true feminine side”, while Ben Jones said, “He looks like an idiot but he’s doing it for a good cause.” Perhaps the last word belongs to Hope Maguire: “It’s going to be hard to concentrate in Maths!”

Tracey Edstein

Back to Aurora Homepage