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Ely College students and teachers travel to Kenya to donate shoes and socks to children in the slums
Ely College students with some of the school children they helped in Kenya - Credit: Archant
Dozens of Ely teenagers flew to Kenya to donate hundreds of pairs of shoes and socks to children who go to school in the slums thanks to £555 worth of donations from local people.
Over the last 18 months, Ely College and Bishop Laney Sixth Form collected 500 pairs of children’s school shoes, and 400 pairs of socks and pants to give to the children of Jubilee and Ungana Academies in Nakuru slums, Kenya.
A JustGiving page was then set up to raise money to pay the duty of excess baggage at Heathrow and the duty in Nairobi - each extra 23kg suitcase meant an extra £60 needed to be raised. £555 was raised.
The trip, run by African Adventures, saw students fly from Heathrow to Africa with their teacher Ella Watkins.
She said: “Our students have been absolutely amazing and got involved with everything; they worked very hard on painting and building at the two schools.
“We went on safari, too, and saw rhinos, giraffes, lions and many other animals. We visited the equator and watched the famous equator experiment with Professor Peter of the Equator.
“We then visited Thomson Falls which was beautiful but very wet and we all got soaked.”
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As part of the trip, Kenyan teachers Edith and Susan were presented with a smartphone and laptop.
“What an amazing experience for them all and the generosity we have seen from the community is outstanding.
“Thank you so much to everyone for their kind donations. You made so many children very happy.”
Posting on the Facebook page Miles of Smiles, which is used as a way of gathering donations from local people every 18 months or so, Caroline Nightingale said: “Ungana Academy children say a massive thank you. The children loved the school shoes and donations of pants, socks and clothes.”
Lisa Edwards, who donated, said: “Go Ely College, a phenomenal effort and a fantastic community of people.”
African Adventures organises volunteer experiences for groups and individual travellers to volunteer at educational projects in Ghana, Kenya and Zanzibar.
Visit www.african-adventures.co.uk for more information.