Crescent Raise Over £1,400 For Rugby Based Charity Bwengu Projects Malawi
09 May
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On Tuesday 7 May local Rugby residents Sue and Samantha Melia, from Bwengu Projects Malawi, visited the Crescent School to receive a cheque for £1442.20. The cheque was presented by Year 4 pupils Michael Mercer and Isaac Nelson, in assembly in front of the whole school.
The Crescent School has been supporting the work of Bwengu Projects for twelve years. In fact, the school was one of the charity’s first supporters back in 2007 when they donated books for use in school libraries, one of the charity’s earliest projects. Each year the Year 4 children at the Crescent School study Africa and in particular Malawi and the work the charity, Bwengu Projects, does. Studying the challenges the people in Malawi face helps the children to appreciate the similarities and differences in our societies.
At the end of their topic the children choose specific Bwengu Projects to support and go on to organise fundraising activities that the whole school participates in. This year the Year 4s have raised money in a number of enterprising ways including building a penny path, maintaining a sponsored silence, organising collections at the school’s Easter Service and Spring Concert and running guess games, a treasure hunt and a mystery pick-a-book event.
For 2019 the children chose two projects to support with a target of £1010 in order to fund six months of orphans’ food and solar panels for a girls’ school.
Bryony Forth, Deputy Head, commented, “Supporting the Bwengu Project is always a highlight of my teaching year, something which I personally am very proud to be part of. The children enjoy studying Bwengu and comparing 'A Village Less Economically Developed than Rugby'. Over the years, we must have raised nearly £10,000 and helped pay for renovating schools, building a Women's Development Centre, sewing machines, a teacher's salary and nearly 60,000 meals for orphans.
“The children worked incredibly hard this year organising lots of events. They have smashed their fundraising target, having raised a grand total of £1442.20, our biggest total ever.”
Sue and Samantha Melia were overwhelmed, and commented, “This is really wonderful, our aims are very simple, our projects in Malawi support education. It is difficult to ask a question of those that lead you, if you cannot read, write or even count. Our philosophy is simply helping the many to help themselves. The Crescent children help unlock that opportunity for children in Malawi.”