Pupils at Bede Academy in Blyth have been sending a little joy to Kenya. The crafty youngsters have made brightly coloured cuddly toys which have been sent to health clinics to attract mums who would normally shirk medical care.
Project Hugs was started because of an idea from 11-year-old pupil Chloe Warnes whose mum Dawn runs the after school sewing club and is a learning support assistant at Bede Primary.
The fabric that is being used to make the toys has been donated by All in One, an Ashington based family firm which makes sleep suits. Chloe said: “My grandma came home with loads of material so we decided to take it to the sewing club and make toys for the children in Africa.
“When I was at primary school we watched a film about Kenya and I thought it was really sad because they had so little.
“This makes us realise how lucky we are and so far we have made about 100 Hugs to send.”
The toys are being sent to Africa by the charity the Kenya Acorn Project (KAP).
Charity networker Verna MacNaughton came to visit the children and was very impressed and pleased by their work.
“The mums love the bright colours and the novelty of the toys, so they come into the health centres,” she said.
“The death rate among children had been one in five under the age of five. But we have managed to get this down to one in four and the soft toys are really helping as they encourage the mums to come into the clinics. It is incredible but they are actually saving lives.”
She added: “It’s a fantastic idea because the children don’t have any toys as it is a very deprived area. We have rebuilt five schools in the area and provide inpatient and outpatient care through a health programme.
“One little boy with pneumonia came in and was frightened. It wasn’t until he was given a toy that he smiled for the first time.”