Festive fund-raiser to change students lives

In 2005, Sarah Meynink Green set up a small, hands-on charity, The Watoto Trust.

Its purpose is to provide support for education projects in rural Kenya, including help with school fees and local infrastructure grants.

Every year, the charity raises vital funds to boost the work it carries out through its Christmas Fair and a variety of activities.

The Watoto Trust currently supports almost 50 students from primary school through to university level.

Last year, the charity was extremely proud to assist a project set to revolutionise education in Africa by providing a grant to the Orkonyil Project to buy a Kio Kit.

Developed in Kenya, Kio Kits are aimed to narrow the huge educational gap that exists between better-off city schools, with access to books, the internet and learning content, and those remote rural schools that do not.

The kits, which look like plastic suitcases, not only transport and recharge water-, dust- and drop-resistant Kio tablets.

They also house offline ‘micro-Cloud’ servers.

Once the micro-Cloud server is activated, preloaded interactive content is made accessible to both children and teachers without the additional expense of an internet connection.

Sarah Meynink Green said; “We take access to education for granted in the UK but, if we are going to relieve poverty in Kenya, 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.”

This year’s Watoto Christmas Fair is being held on Tuesday, November 6 and Wednesday, November 7 from 9am to 4pm.

The fair will be located at The Tithe Barn, Ditcham, GU31 5RQ.

Entry is £5 per person, which includes a cup of tea or coffee and a slice of home-made cake.

The fair will feature 50 unique stalls, full of a variety of stylish, imaginative gifts and festive treats.

Every single penny raised will go directly to the Watoto Trust and the work it carries out.

In addition to supporting the Watoto Trust, the charity will support The Rosemary Foundation Hospice at Home and St Catherine’s Building Fund, Cocking.

For more information, visit http://www.watototrust.org/.