A Difficult Journey

James, 12, lives with his mum in a small room in Blantyre, the biggest city in Malawi (southeastern Africa). His mum never went to school and can’t get a good job. When James’s parents split up, there was no money for food or school fees. James was so hungry and sad he eventually ran away to live on the streets. “It was dangerous and I was threatened with knives. I remember asking myself, why am I sleeping on the streets when all my friends can go to school?”James survived doing jobs like selling plastic bags. “Sometimes I’d beg outside the supermarket but I’d bump into people I knew. I felt so embarrassed, I’d hide.”Thanks to the UK’s Red Nose Day charity, an international relief agency, James is now back at home and his school fees are paid by a local project. “I’m happy now. My favorite subject is English. I’m the class captain.” James has taken up gardening too—thanks to the project—and grows vegetables to eat and sell. “It’s good exercise and means we can buy things we need, like soap.”Charities like Red Nose Day help thousands of children in poor countries get an education, but there are approximately 80 million children around the world still missing out. The Red Nose Day charity’s vision is a just world free from poverty. Log onto www.rednoseday.com.