Cyclist's misssion to raise school fees

A KEEN cyclist has biked from Germany to France to raise money to help pay for children in Africa to have an education.

Stevenage resident Brian Ingarfill cycled from Ingelheim in Germany to Autun in France over a 10-day period.

Ingelheim and Autun are both towns twinned with Stevenage, and the �467 raised from the event so far will be used to pay the school fees of children living in Stevenage's third twin town - Kadoma in Zimbabwe.

Brian said: "There was personal effort, and challenges to overcome, but it feels like Stevenage, Ingelheim and Autun have all pulled together for the purpose of this cycle ride."

The School Fees Project is run by the Stevenage-Kadoma Link Association (SKLA) and it supports almost 400 children at school in Kadoma who would otherwise have little or no education.

The association is committed to seeing these children through as much of their schooling as possible. This has so far been achieved by Stevenage residents regularly giving each year to help pay their school fees.

Chipo, 22, is one of those living in Kadoma who has benefitted.

The youngest of a family of six, when one of her parents died it proved impossible for her family to keep her at school.

She said: "When I was in Grade 6 my teacher introduced me to the Stevenage- Kadoma Link Association, and thank God the link became responsible for my school fees and my school uniforms.

"From 1999 until 2006 I was a beneficiary of the link under its School Fees Project. I am now currently studying law at the University of Zimbabwe."

If you would like to support the School Fees Project, either by a one-off donation or with ongoing support, email Jodie Whiteley, the SKLA School Fees Project leader, at jodiewhiteley@talktalk.net or call Jan Addison, chairman of the association, on 01462 623148.

For more information about the SKLA, visit www.skla.org