Some of our Year 10 students were fortunate to attend a presentation by Mike Haines, founder of the charity Global Acts of Unity. Mike set up the charity after his brother, David, a humanitarian aid worker, was murdered by Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014. David had been working to help refugees of the war in Syria when he was kidnapped the previous year. 

Mike spoke with great conviction and, understandably, incredible emotion about the early life he shared with his brother and the important work he did. Mike’s presentation – and GAU’s whole purpose – is not to spread hatred, but rather to encourage forgiveness and communication between people of different beliefs and backgrounds.  

The presentation was an incredibly powerful one, and our Year 10s behaved impeccably throughout, even asking some exceedingly difficult questions of Mike after his talk. Mike’s message is a sadly vital one in a society that increasingly seems to react to adversity with aggression rather than considering other more peaceful and constructive solutions, but we are sure it is one Sandhill View students will remember for the rest of their lives. 

If you would like to know more, or even contact Mike and his team directly, you can find out more on this website.