NORTH-EAST based children’s charity, Gathimba Edwards Foundation (GEF), have reached their target ahead of schedule to provide Christmas food packages for 178 families they currently support in Kenya.
The modest but impactful charity set the ambitious target of reaching £2,088 by Christmas Eve, and the generous donations they received will ensure that the families will not go hungry over the festive period.
Each family has one or more children who are supported through either school, college or university by GEF, with the charity providing their fees, uniform and books and stationery, as well as sanitary towels for girls. Despite this support enabling the children to attend school, their families still face a huge challenge to put food on the table with many single parents earning just £12 per week for 6 days of work.
In the days leading up to the Christmas period, Gathimba Edwards are also continuing their annual appeal to find sponsors to support the education of children. The charity has managed to secure sponsors for 10 of the children so far and hope to find support for the remaining 2 children before Christmas. Since 2015, the charity’s Christmas initiative has already found sponsors for 84 children and hope to continue to add to this for many years to come.
Founder of the charity, Myles Edwards, said “reaching this target in record time is really a testament to the kindness of the people of the North-east and beyond. We know that times are really hard for everyone at the moment, so the fact that people are still giving so generously will make such a difference to the lives of the people we are supporting.”
“We are always looking at how we can do more and grow the number of people in Kenya we can help. We have the bold target to build four houses in eight days in Kenya next summer and are still looking for volunteers to be part of the trip!”
Gathimba Edwards was set up in 2014 to help give disadvantaged children in Kenya a real chance in life. Through various initiatives, sponsorships and donations, the charity has supported 561 children and built 50 new homes since launching. The charity also created the Neil Jaffrey Initiative, which has raised £28,000 to support children living with disabilities across Scotland.
