Scout Collects Cartridges to Help African Orphanage

A BID by a Tamworth Scout to help build an African orphanage has been given a boost by Ankerside Shopping Centre.

Josh Spies is collecting empty printer cartridges to recycle, to help him raise the £3,000 he needs for the Kenyan project.

The teenager and four of his fellow Tamworth Barbarian Scouts will be part of a 40-strong team heading to the village of Kikambala, north of the capital Mombasa, where they will work on the partially-built orphanage.

The 15-year-old has collected his latest batch of used cartridges from Ankerside administrator Lucy Harvey.

“We heard about Josh’s fund raising and we were impressed by his plans,” said Lucy.

“We are proud of our energy efficiency and recycling record here at Ankerside and always look to see if we can find a new use for things when they’ve run out, rather than throw them away.

“So I was delighted to be able to offer Josh our old printer cartridges, knowing that they will help him fund-raise for the project, building this orphanage for children in Kenya.”

Josh, who is also helping organise a fete with his fellow scouts at the end of the month in Glascote, is looking forward to heading to Africa next Easter.

He said: “We will be there for two weeks, helping to complete the orphanage. It is partially built at the moment so we will be doing things like plastering, painting and outhouse construction.

“I’ve never done anything like this before but I am really looking forward to it, so I think it will give me a good chance to start to understand how life is in the village for those the same age as me.

“I’m grateful for the support that Ankerside and other organisations in Tamworth have shown me. I have nearly raised £2,000 and so far I have raised £150 through the cartridge recycling. I also received a £250 donation by the Tamworth Soroptimists.

“The next venture by the Kenya Project Tamworth team will be a summer fete at the District Activity Centre in Glascote on August 31.

There will be a charity auction with watches, electric scooter and jewellery for sale. Plus there will be archery, craft stalls, stocks, inflatables and a tombola.

“The other scouts, who are from Tamworth and Lichfield, are also doing fund-raising for the trip,” added Josh, whose dad Nigel works at Coalville High School.

His mum Hayley, a teaching assistant at Birchwood Primary School, praised the scouts for working together as a team on fund-raising events such as bag-packing and bucket collections.

She said: “I’m so proud of Josh and how he’s put so much time into this amazing opportunity to do something good for others – we are grateful to Ankerside for helping him.”

Anybody who would like to sponsor the scouts’ fete or are willing to provide prizes for the August charity auction should contact them via their Facebook page or email tamworth.kenya@gmail.com.

(Source: www.tamworthherald.co.uk)