Roedean students write their own children’s book to help Worthing charity

Three students have published their own children’s book to raise money for a Worthing charity that sends educational supplies to impoverished children in Eastern Europe.
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Emily Manders, Olivia Taggart and Megan Turtle wrote and illustrated Brighton to Bulgaria, An Adventure, then put it on sale for £5.50, with all proceeds going to Door of Hope.

The girls, who are in year-12 at Roedean in Brighton, have raised more than £900 so far.

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Megan, who did almost all the illustrations, said: “The book was really enjoyable to work on and it felt really wonderful to know that sales of it would go to such a brilliant cause as this.”

Emily Manders, Olivia Taggart and Megan Turtle created the beautifully-illustrated book Brighton to Bulgaria, An Adventure, with all proceeds going to Worthing charity Door of Hope. Picture: David McHughEmily Manders, Olivia Taggart and Megan Turtle created the beautifully-illustrated book Brighton to Bulgaria, An Adventure, with all proceeds going to Worthing charity Door of Hope. Picture: David McHugh
Emily Manders, Olivia Taggart and Megan Turtle created the beautifully-illustrated book Brighton to Bulgaria, An Adventure, with all proceeds going to Worthing charity Door of Hope. Picture: David McHugh

The story tells of a friendly deer who leaves Roedean and meets new animals friends on a journey to Bulgaria.

Dr Ross Barrand, Roedean’s deputy head outreach, said: “Door of Hope is one of the school’s Community Action Plan charities, which the girls choose each year, and I know Megan, Emily and Olivia really felt incentivised to create the best book they could, knowing that every penny of profits would go to help these children.”

The charity’s Bags of Education scheme fills bags with pens, rulers, stationery and other essential tools for learning, and sends them out to under-funded schools in Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and the Ukraine.

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Simon Streeter, project manager, said: “I started the Bags of Education appeal after talking with a pastor in Romania about schooling in his country. He told me that at the beginning of the school year, children are handed a list of supplies they need to buy but their parents very often do not have the means to get them.

“They must make frugal decisions about how to spend their money and educational items come way down the list. The pastor told me that many teachers end up focussing on the children who parents can afford to buy the materials whilst the poorer children end up disenfranchised and leave, spending their lives on the street instead.

“I decided to set up Bags of Education and it is my initial aim to send 1,000 bags over to children in Eastern Europe who need them. The girls’ efforts in creating the book and sending the profits to us are hugely appreciated and will help us get a little bit nearer that total.”

The bags cost around £20 to fill and deliver. To learn more about the Bags of Education scheme, visit doorofhope.co.uk/bags-of-education

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