We are proud to have linked over 1,000 British and Kenyan school children as part of our school child twinning programme 'Connecting Children, Creating Chances' which aims to provide the children with a better understanding and level of appreciation for what life is like for a child in the country of their partner school.
The programme aims to:
- Offer the children of both countries a window to the world where they can learn more about a childhood, life and upbringing that is similar yet so very different from their own.
- Lay the foundations of potential long term friendships between the children.
- Encourage/introduce the children to fundraising to help a child in need living in another part of the world.
What's involved?
- Your school or class will be linked with a child in Kenya as a pen pal and they will write back and fore throughout the year.
- Each school prepares letters on areas such as culture, water, animals, healthcare, food, language, home, sports, hobbies, homework, water, cooking, playground and family.
- The children have the opportunity to meet each other virtually via video call.
- We kindly request that schools fundraise what they can towards the school fees, uniform, books, shoes and school meals of the child they are linked with in Kenya. The children that we seek sponsors for currently face a variety of challenges in life such as going days without food, desperate living conditions and being sent home from school due to a lack of fees. Many of the families we work with are single parent families earning at most the equivalent of £2 per day from casual labouring jobs.
Our current Year 6 class are now in their second year of supporting GEF. The children really enjoy coming up with ways to fundraise each term and always find a way to get staff involved too.
At St Peter’s, we always have a theme for each term. Recently, we had the theme, ‘let no one enter your world without leaving it better and happier.’ Although our children’s and those of GEF’ worlds don’t literally meet, through letters and fundraising efforts, they do.
When the children hear about and see photos of the projects that the money they have raised has gone towards, they feel pride and it makes it more real for them; they are helping others. We are looking forward to continuing our link and supporting the amazing work of GEF.
Ashleigh, St Peters School, Bolton
I've really loved exchanging letters with Daniel and Daisy and I can't wait to hear from them again. I've always got so many questions!
Freya, Hazlehead Primary student, Scotland
For more information please contact us on info@gathimbaedwardsfoundation.org