By YASEMIN TALAT
EXCITED students from Altona Meadows Primary school had lots of fun with the colourful and entertaining life-sized puppets who performed at their school last Tuesday.
McDonald’s Camp Quality Puppets visit schools across Australia teaching children about serious illnesses and how to support other students returning to school after having had treatments.
Kylie, Dean and Melissa are the three puppets who help educate the children about cancer and other serious illnesses, spreading the message of acceptance and tolerance.
Puppeteer, Andy McDougall, said the children were able to really engage and learn from the puppets while having fun.
“The best thing about it is that it’s a bit of fun and you get to make kids laugh and have fun while putting out information they need,” Mr McDougall said.
Mr McDougall said the puppets helped break down barriers, adults or actors may have, when trying to lay the same information to children.
“The kids are a lot more open because they are puppets,” Mr McDougall said
“We can present a lot more complex ideas to them with the puppets,” he said.
“Having a good laugh and some fun with it also makes it more relevant to kids.”
McDonald’s Camp Quality National Programs Manager Angie Grant said the program had a positive influence on students.
“Cancer and serious illness are hard for young children to understand,” Ms Grant said.
“We’re very grateful for McDonald’s long-standing support and generosity towards the program that allows us to reach more than 200,000 children each year.”
For further information about the McDonald’s Camp Quality Puppets program, volunteering or to fill out a booking request, please visit www.campquality.org.au.
