
DESTINATION AFRICA: Staff and students from The Arnewood School with just some of the old PE kit which is being donated to African children.
Children from an African community will benefit from thousands of items of sports clothing thanks to the generosity of a New Forest school.
When The Arnewood School in New Milton announced a new PE kit for its students, one of its Year 9 girls came up with the idea of donating their old kit to children in need.
And with some of the students travelling to Zambia in Africa this summer, it was decided that this would be the ideal destination for the clothing.
The students responded in their droves, bringing in their old PE gear for donation.
And Arnewood’s uniform supplier PMG responded in kind, donating its last remaining stock – more than 1,000 items.
Headteacher, Nigel Pressnell, said: “This idea came from one of our students and everyone has responded brilliantly to the appeal – it makes me very proud of our community.
“Now some of our students will get the honour of handing over these PE kits to children in Africa.
“What we take for granted here is often in short supply in Africa and we hope that our old PE kits will breathe new life into the sporting opportunities for children there.”
Arnewood’s PE kit will be going to two new homes – Lubasi Home, an orphanage near Livingstone and the local school in Makuni Village.
Lubasi Home provides residential care for orphans and vulnerable children who have no family to look after them.
Most of them have been orphaned as a result of the AIDS pandemic, which affects about 30% of adults in Livingstone.
In August, 16 Arnewood students will travel to Livingstone in Zambia to work on community and charity projects.
Their work will include working with orphans, preparing a celebration tea for older citizens, tree planting and completing a building project for the village school.
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