MP Richard Thomson visits Aberdeen academy to kick off Fairtrade rice challenge

Gordon MP Richard Thomson paid a visit to Bridge of Don Academy to help kick-off the school’s FairTrade group’s 90kg Rice Challenge.

Aberdeen for a Fairer World, in partnership with the Co-op Bridge of Don who kindly donated the rice, arranged for the young people to receive the bags of Malawian FairTrade rice for selling on.

90kg of rice is the amount that a Malawian farmer needs to sell in a year to provide a sustainable income and to be able to send a child to secondary school for a year.

Commenting, Richard Thomson MP said: “This was an extremely worthwhile visit, both in terms of hearing from the young people what they have done in their FairTrade group and also seeing their enthusiasm to help people in far away places by promoting FairTrade goods.

“The ninety kilos of rice the young people have to sell allows them to see directly that our buying decisions can help provide a better life for those in some of the poorest communities in Malawi.

"It is a very visual and easy concept to understand and grasp and which they can feel proud to be a part of.

“Aberdeen for a Fairer World have done a lot of excellent work in this regard and I commend them on their efforts and wish them every success going forward.”

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