Our Active Schools Coordinator for Mallaig, Pamela Macdonald, has received an Unsung Hero Award from TaeKwon-Do Council UK, the sport's national governing body, in recognition of her work promoting and encouraging participation in TaeKwon-Do.
The Unsung Heroes initiative celebrates people who don't take part in TaeKwon-Do in the conventional sense, but who work hard behind the scenes to help others access the art.
Reaching schools across the islands and Knoydart
Being an Active Schools Coordinator in the Highlands comes with real geographical challenges, and Pamela has had to think creatively about what's on offer for young people in her area, particularly school pupils on the islands of Muck, Eigg and Rum, and on the Knoydart peninsula.
One of her biggest successes has been the delivery of online TaeKwon-Do sessions with TaeKwon-Do Master Claire Crosbie from Inverness, with many children going on to take their gradings.
A partnership built since 2013
Claire explained: "Pam has been so integral in making TaeKwon-Do accessible to such remote areas and we are so grateful for everything she has done and supporting what we do.
"I first met Pam back in 2013 when she invited me to Eigg to take part in an activities day and teach the lovely school kids. Since then, Pam kept in touch and I would accept invitations to various events and activities of similar ilk. Then, in 2022, after another lovely invitation to come to Mallaig to teach, we put our heads together and came up with something a bit more permanent. And so began the classes in Mallaig and Arisaig.
"It was Pam's ingenuity that also helped bring the online classes to life. This helped those in the most rural areas of Scotland have access to the TaeKwon-Do classes I provide. In that time, we have trained the school kids on Eigg, Rum, Muck and Inverie. Pam has also done amazing work to promote what we do to other Active Schools coordinators, giving others in the same position an opportunity to give our classes a try."
"One of my proudest moments"
Pamela has been the Active Schools Coordinator for the Mallaig cluster for over 20 years. Commenting on her award, she said: "I am incredibly honoured and humbled to receive TaeKwon-Do's Unsung Hero award. It is truly a privilege to work with Claire, the children and young people in the Mallaig and Small Isles clusters and with TaeKwon-Do's national governing body.
"The online TaeKwon-Do sessions with Claire Crosbie have been fantastic and really captured the imagination of those taking part. One of my proudest moments was seeing the children receive their yellow belts!"
One of my proudest moments was seeing the children receive their yellow belts!
Active Schools Coordinator for Mallaig
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