Mab's Cross Primary School Students Fund New Desks for SOS Africa Children in Mafikeng

SOS Africa’s Aftercare Centre in Mafikeng has taken on a fresh new look this week, thanks to the efforts of a dedicated group of children from Mabs Cross Primary School in Wigan. Until recently, the younger children attending our Aftercare Centre in Mafikeng have all shared communal desks during homework and extra lessons. As you can imagine, at times this has made it difficult for the more excitable and energetic among our children to concentrate!

At the start of the year, staff from Mabs Cross Primary School contacted SOS Africa because their students wanted to make a lasting difference to the lives of children less fortunate in South Africa. After a brief discussion about the desk shortages, staff and students from Mabs Cross embarked upon a quest to raise enough funds to provide individual desks for each child attending our centre.

To achieve this, each Mabs Cross student took part in a 1km sponsored walk around the school grounds, representing the distance some children in South Africa walk to get to school each day. These children also took it in turns to carry buckets of water, simulating one of the daily chores of an SOS Africa child. To raise funds and as part of a creative writing challenge, the children each composed a letter to their parents explaining that they were going to participate in a sponsored event to raise money for SOS Africa. They explained what the charity did and described the life of the children the charity helps.

After the final kilometre was completed and the last sponsorship collected, the children raised a formidable £640; enough to provide individual desks for all of the SOS Africa children in Mafikeng. Last week, these desks were installed and the SOS Africa staff and children were delighted with the outcome – we have already seen that each child is taking a huge amount of pride in looking after their desk.

We would like to say a big thank you to Sharron Thompson, Tessa Lockett and the children of Mabs Cross Primary School for a fantastic fundraising effort; your dedication will make a lasting difference to our current children and the many passing through our Mafikeng Aftercare Centre over the years to come.