Beechlawn pupils take action for education charity in Kenya

Pupils at Beechlawn School in Hillsborough recently raised almost £500 for educational charity Action Not Words.
Beechlawn pupils have raised £490 for the charity 'Actions Not Words'.Beechlawn pupils have raised £490 for the charity 'Actions Not Words'.
Beechlawn pupils have raised £490 for the charity 'Actions Not Words'.

The school held a fundraising day and were delighted to be able to donate £490 to this important charity.

Ivan Major, whose daughter attends Beechlawn School, travelled to Nakuru Kenya during the summer with fourteen other men from the greater Lisburn area.

“The charity was founded by a young friend of mine called Ross Floyd,” explained Ivan. “Ross went to Nakuru, Kenya in 2010 to volunteer during a gap year from university. At one stage in this trip someone took him to the local Dump site, Gioto Slum, where he was horrified to see families living in squalid conditions on the dump. He witnessed kids eating from a bag of rubbish that had been taken off one of the dump trucks. Ross would say that was the moment Actions Not Words was born.”

Two years later after graduating university with a Business Management degree, Ross went back to Nakuru and set up home and more importantly officially founded Actions Not Words as a charity.

During the summer Ivan travelled to Nakuru to see the work of Actions Not Words for himself. “We were able to see firsthand the situation in the town,” he continued.

“We met Agnes who manages the Charity along with Ross and were all amazed at how Agnes and Ross have identified the really vulnerable families and have worked to provide help with basic needs of food and clothing as well as getting kids sponsored and into boarding school.”

During his visit Ivan met four year old Ibrahim who has cerebral palsy. Thanks to his Actions Not Words and his sponsor, Lisburn company Tech, he is receiving medical care and education at a special needs school.

“He is the most adorable kid and it was our privilege to meet him,” said Ivan. “It was hugely humbling to meet Ibrahim and his Mum, who despite living on a dump still face life with a huge smile.

“After the trip to Gioto slum we went to Fanisi Boarding School where over forty kids from Gioto have been placed. I met Peter, the boy I sponsor with my family and it was overwhelming. These kids are hugely grateful for this chance of education and every one of them are working really hard to give themselves the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty that they were born into.

“Actions Not Words have formed really good friendships with other charities who are trying to help the people in Nakuru, one of these charities is Nellies Orphanage. Nellies was started by a young married coupled called Nelly and Joseph. It was Nelly’s dream to begin an orphanage and with Joseph’s support Haven of Hope began. Haven of Hope is a fantastic and very apt name but for everyone involved it will always be known as Nellies.”

The visit to Nakuru was an emotional experience for Ivan, who was delighted that his daughter’s school decided to help raise much needed funds for the charity.

“Despite living in these unfathomable conditions, the people of Gioto are a true testament to the resiliency and adaptability of the human spirit,” he concluded.

To find out more about the charity visit the website www.actionsnotwordskenya.com.

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