Appeal for knitters to help provide school uniforms for children in Kenya
Local Somerset charity Mend the Gap is appealing for local knitters to make jumpers for school children in Kenya. As the jumpers will be washed in river water, 4 ply acrylic wool will be needed as pure wool will shrink. Wool can be provided for those who would like to knit but are unable to get the wool. There are well established regular knitting groups in the villages of Churchill, Langford, Sandford and Kewstoke that meet regularly to knit for the charity. The charity, based in Churchill and Langford villages in North Somerset, links local schools and communities to contemporaries in South Western Kenya. These long-term and sustainable links are mutually beneficial.
Groups of students, teachers and ex-students going on Gap Year from Chew Valley School, Gordano School, Clevedon School and Churchill Academy will be visiting Kenya next summer with the charity. They will visit the Bochoroke and Perimart Nalepo villages in South Western Kenya in July next year. They will spend their time working in local orphanages, girl rescue centres, hospitals, community wildlife conservancies, and with local public health and environmental services. They will gain experience teaching at their partner schools and hone their multi-cultural communication skills.
Not all children in the villages can afford to go to school, so to wear a uniform is a visible sign of school membership. These children, for whom jumpers are knitted, have nothing to protect themselves against the bitter cold in the mornings and evenings. Hand knitted jumpers are preferable because they are particularly hard-wearing. Sharing is the norm in these villages and jumpers are handed down within and across families. In the regions where the donated jumpers go, the per capita income is £57 per person per year – which can only go so far! So Mend the Gap also helps provide basic donated goods of all kinds to beneficiary children and their families. The students from Somerset schools help carry some of these donated goods during their summer school trip to their linked schools.
A number of Gap Year students and other adventurous individuals who would like to support the charity will participate in either one or both of two overseas events organised to raise funds for the charity. These activities will start soon after the visiting students from Somerset come back home to England. These events will occur over 3 days between 3rd and 5th August and 25th and 27th August 2017 at the charity’s project sites in the Masai Mara and Kisii regions in Kenya. These are family-friendly 1K, 5K, 10K and 20K running and walking events as well as half and full marathon events. At the end of these events participants will go on game drive safaris and/or volunteer for some of the charity’s projects whilst having a-once-in-a-lifetime family holiday off-the-beaten-tourist-track! Door-to-door travel arrangements can be made with the charity and its local partners.
Head Teacher at Chew Valley School, Mr Gareth Beynon, said: “Chew Valley School is looking forward to working alongside Mend the Gap supporting this local charity which will bring much to our students learning about and from others who live on a different continent”.
Mr. Chris Hildew, Head Teacher at Churchill Academy, said: “I am very excited about the opportunities for our students to make links with Kenya, to broaden their horizons and develop their skills as global citizens.”
Head of Sixth Form at Gordano School, Mrs Jeanne Fairs, said: “This is our third year of knitting for the students and is a very visible sign on our continued relationship with our twin schools. We have just been able to send over £2,000 to the charity, raised by students during RAG week, which will pay for the teacher salaries in the Bochoroke nursery school.”
Mrs. Claire Murray, Subject Co-ordinator for Learning Challenge at Clevedon School, said: “We have loved working with Mend the Gap over the last few years developing links between our communities here in the UK and those in Kenya, and can’t wait to continue building these relationships in the future. The jumpers we take every year are so gratefully received! It always is such a joy to see how such a small thing makes such a big difference. I would urge anyone able to get involved to support this worthwhile cause”.
Knitted jumpers and other donations can be dropped off at any time at Mend the Gap, 9 Turnpike Close, Churchill, Wisncombe BS25 5NZ. Regular or one off donations can be made online on the charity’s website at http://www.mendthegap.org.uk/Donate.html or by cheque to “Mend the Gap”.
To join or start a knitting group, request some wool or the knitting pattern, or to register to participate and fundraise in one or both charity events, please contact the charity volunteers Sylvia Pain, Louise Dumbell, Ben Ferguson, or Naftali Onchere at info@mendthegap.org.uk or via mobile 07572432833 or 01934853228.
