Club and school support children across the world

Year 2 pupils organised fund raising activities, including a sponsored silence, in support of School in a Bag (SIAB), a project run by the Piers Simon Appeal charity which delivers school bags to deprived children all around the world. Each bag contains learning resources to enable children to write, draw, colour, calculate, express themselves and above all learn, giving them the opportunity to enjoy a better life. The bags also contain a bowl, a plate and a water bottle to enable children to have a meal during the school day. The Piers Simon Appeal charity, established soon after the tsunami which devastated countries around the Pacific rim in 2004, launched the SIAB project in 2009, and since then over 65000 bags have been delivered in 32 countries.

Luke Simon, the founder and CEO of the SIAB project, visited the school on Monday June 27 to supervise the packing of 90 school bags funded jointly by the children and the Club. Having thanked the children for raising funds he explained the reasons for supplying learning resources to children all around the world, emphasising that they had few if any of the items in the bags and the importance of helping them to learn. The headmistress, Mrs Jeannie Hughes, said that supporting SIAB helped her pupils understand that there were so many children in the world far worse off than they were.

Jenny Theobald, the President of the Club, said: “I am delighted that Hassocks Infants School has again collaborated with the Rotary Club of Burgess Hill and District to support this excellent project.”

She concluded by presenting Luke Simon with a donation from the Club.

The Rotary Club would be pleased to talk to schools and groups about the School in a Bag project (www.schoolinabag.org) . For more information about this or any other aspect of Rotary please contact the Secretary on 01444230518.