Bristol school children got a real life experience of the impacts of Fairtrade when Jitzy Centeno, a Fairtrade Coffee producer from Nicaragua visited Bristol during Fairtrade Fortnight (Feb 28 to March 13). Local authorities in South Gloucestershire and Bristol have been involved in the preparations and procurement officers at Bristol City Council had the opportunity to meet with Jitzy and see how their efforts in promoting Fairtrade and ethical procurement in Bristol is impacting lives overseas.

As well as visiting 12 schools in Bristol and South Gloucestershire, Jitzy was involved in the Fairtrade Fiesta, the Burges Salmon Fashion Show and an International Women's Day event. All schools funded the visits themselves and it is estimated that over 2,500 local children benefited from the experience. Local Primary School Governor, Richard Jones, highlighted the benefits to his school children: 

The Fairtrade producer visits are hugely beneficial to the children because they touch on so many different aspects of the curriculum - geography, language, numeracy, healthy eating and much more. They also challenge the pupils to use skills such as research (to prepare for the visit) and analytical skills to understand the nature of trade with other countries. I have observed the producer visits over four years and always find that the children are completely engaged by the subject and ask a wide range of intelligent questions. It's a real bonus for the children that we have been able to arrange these visits through the Bristol Fairtrade Network and Bristol Link with Nicaragua.

For further information on the Bristol Link with Nicaragua click here to find out more about Jitzy's story visit this link.