On Monday 29^th June Alan Wolstencroft Trustee of The Westminster Group Foundation and Joanna Fowler Director of Westminster Aviation Security Services visited Chacombe CEVA Primary Academy to give a short presentation to the children regarding the Calvary School in Lungi Sierra Leone. The presentation was to help the children understand the difficulties families face in schooling children in Sierra Leone, especially after the EBOLA crisis, and the differences between their lives and life in Sierra Leone.

Chacombe CEVA Primary School have very kindly chosen to support the school with funds raised by the children from school events and recently donated their old tables and chairs which were shipped out to Sierra Leone by The Westminster Group Foundation in June and taken to the Calvary School. This donation has improved conditions immeasurably and the children of Calvary School sent a video message to the children and teachers of Chacombe School expressing their gratitude for improving their school.

Chacombe school are now donating a kit bag for each child in the Calvary school and filling each bag with small items for the children, notebooks, pencils and an individual letter. They are also putting a collection box at the school for any second hand shoes, plimsolls and football boots to be donated to Calvary School.

Communications between the schools will continue via The Westminster Group Foundation so not only will this help the children in Sierra Leone but it will also benefit the pupils at Chacombe school and help them understand the differences in their cultures and living standards. The Calvary School has subsequently donated their old wooden benches and tables to a neighbouring school in Sierra Leone where the children had nothing at all to sit on.

Such a simple initiative that has improved two schools and means so much to so many and their gratitude was expressed in writing by their head teacher Abibatu.

“The staff and pupils of this school are very happy and grateful  that the Lord is using you to help us and this community. This effort is a true demonstration of God’s love and care for the poor and needy. We would like to thank the Westminster Group Foundation and Chacombe School who in one way or the other had contributed to the development of this school.”

The Westminster Group Foundation would like to thank Chacombe CEVA Primary School for their kind donations and continued support to The Calvary School

Thanks to the generous donations to our recent Ebola appeal we have been able to make a good start in helping the local community in Sierra Leone as they begin to recover from the effects of the Ebola outbreak. This was continued with the shipping of the latest container of humanitarian aid supplies to the region.

The container was packed with filled boxes containing clothes, shoes, educational supplies, school uniforms, school equipment, toys etc This will help families who have been unable to earn a living during the crisis or children unfortunately orphaned as a result.

The container has just arrived in Sierra Leone and should be unpacked in the next couple of weeks.

The school supplies are particularly timely as schools have just started to go back following several months closure during the Ebola Crisis. Many children are now back in school but some parents have struggled to pay the small school fees to be able to send their children back, having been unable to work during the crisis. School fees are typically only around £10 a term per child, but what may seem a relatively small sum to us, it’s the price of a cinema ticket or 3 cups of coffee!, will be hard for some families to find. Education is more important than ever for these children, and should anyone wish to donate towards this they can do so through the website or by contacting us directly. Many thanks to all those who have supported our appeal so far, your contributions, both financial and in goods, are very much appreciated by us and those who will be helped.

Nigel Bostock, a RAF Policeman NCO, currently working at Freetown International Airport in support of the Department for International Development-led effort to combat the spread of Ebola, has undertaken a solo half marathon, running 13 miles around the airfield to raise funds for the Foundations work in the local area. Local Westminster staff were on hand to provide support to Nigel. Donations are still coming in but to date several hundred pounds have been raised by Nigel, with donations coming from the local community at the Airport, colleagues, family and friends of Nigel’s including his local church. It’s not too late to support Nigel’s run and should anyone wish to donate they can do so through the Foundations Donation page. Well done and many thanks to Nigel.

At the recent BIRA Conference our Trustee Alan Wolstencroft, the owner of Fashion Fabrics in Banbury, was awarded the Charitable Champion Award, at the Gala Dinner, for his outstanding work in Sierra Leone.

Delegates were informed that during the past year, although Alan had not visited Sierra Leone because of the e-bola crisis, he had continued fundraising for the development at 3 schools that he supports including providing subsistence allowances for the teaching staff.

Alan had undertaken 36 speaking engagements raising £14,350 of a total of £33,600 raised during the year. Since his first involvement in Sierra Leone, 10 years ago, Alan has delivered 290 talks raising a total of £63,400 of a total of £124,100 for his Sierra Leone projects.

Alan was presented with a certificate, a plaque and a bottle of champagne and a cheque for £1,000 towards his ongoing projects.

Alan acknowledged the support that he receives from his family, his staff, customers and suppliers, BIRA members, Westminster Group PLC, Goodwill & Growth for Africa UK Banbury Rotary Club and dozens of organisations and hundreds of individuals.

Alan explained that he is returning to Sierra Leone at the start of June and some of the money may well be used to pay school fees (£10 per term) for children whose families cannot afford to pay the fees due to the increased cost of living caused by the e-bola situation.

Alan explained that every £ goes directly to the projects and that the money will help him to continue to “make a real difference” in Sierra Leone.