WHEN Band Aid asked people to ‘Feed the World’ in the 1980s, the recipients were Ethiopians starving from famine.
Now, more than 30 years on, a Petersfield woman is attempting to feed people in Kenya – only this time with knowledge.
Internet access and better education are the gifts which Sarah Meynink Green wants to give rural Kenyans this Christmas time.
In 2005 she set up a small charity called The Watoto Trust to provide support for educational projects, school fees and infrastructure grants in remote parts of the African country.
The charity, which supports nearly 50 children from primary to university level, has provided funding to a project which seeks to revolutionise education in rural Africa.
The Kio Kits which the Orkonyil Project has acquired aim to narrow the huge education gaps which exist between better off city schools and their rural counterparts. The robust kits – Kio means ‘window’ in Swahili – contain an offline ‘micro-Cloud’ server which is activated when the case is turned on.
It gives teachers access to pre-loaded interactive content, which saves a far-flung school the expense of having to connect to the internet.
Sarah said: “We take access to education for granted in the UK.
“But if we are going to relieve poverty in Kenya then we need to make sure that each and every child has access to school and a chance to build a life for themselves in the 21st century.”
People can learn more about the good cause when Sarah holds a Christmas fair for The Watoto Trust in The Tithe Barn in Ditcham next week. The event, which will take place from 9am to 4pm next Tuesday (November 6) and Wednesday (November 7), will include 50 stalls offering everything from stylish and imaginative gifts to festive treats.
Most of the proceeds will go to The Watoto Trust but The Rosemary Foundation and St Catherine’s Building Fund, Cocking, will also receive funds from the event.