CHARITY may begin at home, but the staff and students of Middlesbrough College are making a difference much further afield after becoming involved with the Meserani Project.

A collaboration between Teesside and Africa, The Meserani Project aims to provide basic education to some of the poorest children in Africa through sponsorship and the sale of authentic African jewellery and handicrafts.

The jewellery and crafts are made in Africa and sent to England to be sold so there are no expenses and every penny goes back into the charity.

The college’s A Level department currently sponsor a 13-year-old boy called Passiri Ndooki who, thanks to the funding the college provide, is due to start attending school in January 2012. Passiri’s father is an alcoholic and his brother works hard as a cattle herder to bring money into the family.   

As part of the college’s involvement with the project, jewellery, scarves and other handicrafts made in Kenya and Tanzania are sold at college events and fundraisers.  

And one student, Laliesha Ali, 17, an A Level student, has taken it one step further by taking it upon herself to sponsor another child.          

Laliesha, said: “I went over to Africa in the summer and handed over the money that the college had raised and it really showed me the reality of these people’s lives and the massive difference we can make.

“All we do is sell some jewellery and we can help someone in Tanzania or Kenya get an education. It’s just an hour of my time and it’s going to make such a difference.

“It’s such a fantastic project to be involved in but I wanted to do more, that’s why I decided to sponsor another child’s education.

“It’s £160 a year for four years and everything is included.”

Sponsoring a child through the Meserani Project means providing four years of secondary education, accommodation, food, equipment such as books, paper, writing equipment, a mathematical set, a dictionary, full school uniform, footwear, sports kit, casual clothes, a metal security box, a mattress and blanket, a mosquito net, gardening and cleaning tools as well as all transport at the start and end of each term and healthcare.

The college will continue to sponsor Passiri though his four years of education and will keep in touch through photos and letters.

Middlesbrough College became involved with the project through Acklam Grange school, one of the college’s feeder schools. Trustees from Acklam Grange launched the scheme at their own expense in 2004.

For more information about the Meserani Project visit: http://www.meseraniproject.co.uk/

STOP PRESS! Click on link to read an article on the Meserani Project, published in the Evening Gazette on Monday 13th February 2012. http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2012/02/13/middlesbrough-college-students-helping-kids-in-africa-84229-30320271/