Second hand Girton Grammar school uniforms will be repurposed by Melbourne not-for-profit social enterprise SisterWorks and donated to an elementary school in the Philippines.
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The project aligns with the school's zero waste initiative, as it transitions to a refreshed uniform in 2020.
St Kilian's Parish priest Father Junray Rayna's connection to the Pangamihan Elementary School in the Philippines was integral in fostering this partnership.
Acting Head of Girton Grammar School, Dr Emma O'Rielly, said the school is thrilled with the connections the school has made with SisterWorks and Pangamihan Elementary.
"This opens up many opportunities for our students in cultural exchange and building social conscience," Dr O'Rielly said.
Students at the elementary school currently don't have a school uniform and sometimes walk up to two hours each way, to and from school, everyday.
Pangamihan Elementary is supported by teachers who travel from the city and sleep at the school, returning to their families on weekends.
Boys and girls from kindergarten to year six attend the school.
Girton's affiliation with SisterWorks began when the school sought to remove the Girton Grammar logo from the apparel and replace it with sewn Pangamihan Elementary logos.
Parent Kate Mahony worked tirelessly to ensure these pre-loved uniforms didn't go to waste and helped establish a secondhand uniform shop was established two years ago.
"The uniform shop has been so well received by parents and has become a bit of a community hub and a great place for a chat," Ms Mahony said.
Women who are part of the SisterWorks network recently secured a large space at the school for the repurposing of Girton uniform items.
"With the money that the uniform shop has made over the past couple of years, we have been able to print the elementary school logo onto fabric, and now we will engage SisterWorks to sew over the old Girton logos on school shirts, polo shirts and shorts," Dr O'Rielly said.
Ms Mahony is now busily preparing for the arrival of six new sewing machines that have been donated to SisterWorks for the repurposing work, which will commence in the coming weeks.
The initial focus will be on junior school uniform items, with senior school items to be repurposed next year.
School shoes and runners that are in good question are also wanted, along with all older style uniform items.
Students will be involved with the packaging of the rebranded uniforms items for shipping to the Philippines, alongside Fr Rayna and members of the Bendigo Filipino community.
