Students from Years 5 - 9 have raised £2 each in many different ways, from sponsored silences to sponsored runs to buy enough pencil cases, pens, pencils, rulers, rubbers and pencil sharpeners for 800 students in a Romanian school.
This is the second time that students have been involved in the Newcastle Police Aid to Romania appeal as after the success of last year the charity approached us to attempt the same again. As well as raising £2 each, students were asked to help fill the cases and write a school postcard with some information about themselves to send inside the pencil cases.
The pencil cases this time are for a local Romanian school in an area called Garcin. The children are all from the Roma villages which are extremely poor. Many parents send their children to school so they can receive a meal, but of course they also receive an education.
Charity representative, Jill Kinghorn, said, "This help is vital in beginning to change the extreme circumstances in which the children live. The pencil cases this year are for the new starters, the original pencil cases from last year are still being used by the children with the original equipment in many cases. For any child to begin school they must each have the basic equipment which is why the pencil case appeal is very important. When families are struggling to feed their children equipment for school is a real luxury."
Well done to everyone involved!
