The brother of an aid worker brutally murdered by ISIS terrorists in Syria shared his story with students from Barrhead High School in a bid to help tackle extremism.
Mike Haines OBE, founder of Global Acts of Unity, visited the East Renfrewshire school after being impressed by pupils’ classwork on the topic.
S2 students came across the story of Mike and his brother David during their Religious and Moral Education project entitled ‘Inspirational People.’
The brothers’ story inspired many pupils’ final work, which was shared on Twitter.
This caught the attention of Mike, who was quick to comment and praise the pupils and offered to visit Barrhead High School to talk to the children himself.
Barrhead High headteacher Andy Sinclair said: “It was very special to have Mike with us last week.
“The pupils were particularly impressed that he had noticed and responded to the work they had tweeted and this made his visit particularly significant to them.
“However, I don’t think any of our pupils or staff had fully anticipated the emotional impact, both on him and on us listening, of the horrific events that his brother David had experienced.”
In 2014, footage was released of David’s brutal execution.
He had been working for a non-governmental organisation assisting Syrian refugees when he was seized by terrorists and murdered after 18 months of captivity.
His brother Mike is now undertaking a school tour to share his personal journey.
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