Pupils pack up their bags for Malawi

Pens, rubbers, jotters, pencil cases ... just some of the things you probably packed in your kids' bags this morning as they left for school, writes Mark Inchley.
But now a Scottish charity is appealing to schools in the Borders to donate some of the same ‘bare essentials’ to youngsters from developing countries in Africa.

Scottish International Relief (SIR), whose flagship campaign, Mary’s Meals, encourage

s young people to attend school by providing daily meals for the chronically hungry, says improving education is the most effective way to help children from developing countries escape the poverty trap later in life.

Its latest initiative, the Back Pack Project, aims to provide basic clothing and educational material for schoolchildren in Malawi and Borders primary schools have been rallying in support.

SIR material aid coordinator Stephen Cox said: “It’s a very popular project because it is so simple and the children can see and understand how their giving of a backpack can help a child living in poverty in Africa.

“Both of these projects have been initiated to encourage families to send their children for an education they would otherwise not receive.”

Staff and pupils at Edenside Primary last month collected 160 back packs filled with clothing, footwear, toiletries and stationery to send to families in Malawi as part of the charity campaign.

Depute headteacher Janice Lawrie told TheSouthern: “We try and do something similar around this time every year, but this is the biggest one we’ve done.

“It really makes you think ‘golly, what a difference between how we live here and how they live in Malawi’.

“Stephen came to take an assembly and he showed us films and talked about what it’s like out there.

“You could’ve heard a pin drop. When the children were collecting they enjoyed themselves, but didn’t understand the reason behind it all.

“But the films really touched them and gave them insight into what it’s like for children in Malawi.”

An Easter Service collection at Edenside also raised £70 for the Mary’s Meals project.

“It was a fantastic effort from Edenside Primary,” added Stephen.

“Normally we get around 60 or 70 bags from schools, so this was a huge amount.

“That’s why we wanted to go and collect it personally and give the children a better sense of how they’re going to be used.

“Projects like this are hugely important and work on so many levels.

“They’re aimed at helping children over here make a direct contribution to the lives of children in developing countries.”

Other Borders schools involved include; Burnfoot Community School, Kingsland Primary, Lauder Primary, Melrose Grammar, Newcastleton Primary, Parkside Primary, Stirches Primary and Tweedbank Primary.