A primary school is aiming to raise as much money as possible to improve the lives of children more than 6,000 miles away.

Romford Recorder: Children with toys donated by Crownfield Infant School. Picture: Crownfield Infant SchooChildren with toys donated by Crownfield Infant School. Picture: Crownfield Infant Schoo (Image: Crownfield Infant Schoo)

Crownfield Infant School, White Hart Lane, Romford, has opted in to help two schools – in Mityana and Masaka, Uganda – to create a better learning environment for pupils to grow up in.

Headteacher Sharon Nacmias said: “It’s a fantastic opportunity to give children in another country the chance of a good education.

“Sometimes I think we forget how privileged we are compared to a lot of countries and through the project, we are able to show our pupils not only how fortunate they are but also allow them to help change other children’s lives for the better.”

The school first got involved with the Abaana Community Outreach (ACO Africa) programme in September, after one of their teaching assistants started working with them.

The programme is a non-discriminatory, non-profit organization committed to providing support for the most vulnerable groups in society.

It places an emphasis on education, health, psychosocial issues, economic empowerment, and nutrition, human and environmental rights.

The school has already raised around £800 for the cause which has been spent on repairing classrooms and water pumps.

Teachers and pupils want to make more money which would go towards decorating classrooms, building toilets and constructing a room for the children to sleep in as many have to walk two hours every morning to get an education.

Sharon said: “It is important, because it is all part of British values helping and caring for one another.

“We want pupils at our school to adopt this kind of thinking as early on in their lives as possible.”

Crownfields Infant School has already held a raffle and a book sale and will be holding more events throughout the year to help them reach their aim of raising thousands of pounds for the schools in Uganda.

Children are also being kept up to date with the schools’ progress with letters and photographs.

Sharon said: “If you do have any ideas for events to help raise money, then please do get in touch.

“We would love to hear from anyone who wants to work alongside the school.”

To find out more or to get involved visit crownfieldinfantschool.org