Saltus students raised thousands of dollars to benefit three charities during their annual ‘rag week’.

The event started in the 1999/2000 school year and has senior students running fun events and playing pranks to raise money for charities.

This year events included a ‘silly sports Olympics’, a scavenger hunt and a cooking competition. The money will be donated to three charities.

The Cheshire Home, in Ndola, Zambia was one of the charities chosen this year. Saltus alumna Rachel Willitts worked with the charity after she completed her final year in 2003.

She was based in Zambia and worked with nuns from the Good Shepherd Convent of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Assisi. The nuns run a home for physically disabled women. $1,667 was donated by Saltus will be used to purchase sewing machines so the women can earn their own money.

Part of the proceeds, $264, will also go to an Ecuadorian school boy named Jefferson Perez. Saltus has been supporting Jefferson for several years and their donations pay for his education.

A local charity was also chosen by students. This year it is the Women’s Resource Centre, which will receive $1,667. The organisation provides counselling for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse. It has a 24-hour crisis line and runs a community awareness programme. This year the theme of rag week was multiculturalism and students were encouraged to find out more about different countries, this included a multicultural dress day and cooking competition. Two movies were also shown, one was about South Africa while the other was about China.