Kings Hill Primary School visits the Oxfam Supply Centre

The Supply Centre hosted a very special visit of 12 Year Five and Year Six pupils from Valley Invicta Primary School at Kings Hill, Kent. Kings Hill has a long-standing relationship with Oxfam and they do a lot of fundraising work for us, so it was great to have them here. Ed Blagden, Head of the Supply Centre, led the tour. He started off by getting the children to think about refugee children and their parents in a crisis, and what they would need to get through to the next day, the next month, the next year. He then explained how the UN system works and how different charities contribute to these needs, and how Oxfam often takes the lead on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH).

Ed then took the children on a Willy Wonka style tour of the warehouse, showing them items of equipment and getting them to guess what they were for. This way we covered the whole process: water extraction, testing, treatment, storage, distribution, sanitation, and finally hand hygiene. After the tour was finished, the children went for lunch at Oxfam’s Superstore in Oxford, where they learned about how Oxfam merchandises donated goods, and about Fairtrade products.

Reflecting after the event, Ed said: “It was great hosting these kids, and it was the most enjoyable working day I’ve had in a long time. They were so engaged and enthusiastic, asked a lot of very smart questions, and kept me on my toes. Who knows, maybe we have inspired one or two of them to become future humanitarians, hydrogeologists, or product designers.”