Author: romillyschallenge

Laying the Foundations

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The foundations of the new sanitation block being laid at the Kawaza shelter for street children.

The new sanitation block is necessary because visitors to the site currently can only use the WC’s in the dormitories, also many of the street children visiting the shelter have never used a WC before. The building will cost £850, which was kindly donated through a 2 Wheel Appeal fund-raiser organised by Miki Jablowska. Miki has been a tremendous supporter of Romilly and Friends of Street Children, running two marathons for them.

The young man with the pink shirt tail in the top picture is Edwin Chungu. He is one of the gardeners at the shelter and when not gardening helps to look after the children.

The pink building in the background is one of the two boys’ dormitories paid for by Romilly’s generous supporters. Both dormitories are in urgent need of maintenance. Please donate at

Please make a donation at https://checkout.justgiving.com/c/3333173

If you have any questions or would like to join Romilly’s supporters please write to jamesforshall@gmail.com

To all Romilly’s kind, generous supporters: Happy Christmas! Happy New Year!

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Meya Mbulo, second from left, and some of the girls at the Chibusa at the FSC shelter Kitwe, Zambia

Thank you. Your donations go to pay for salaries of the staff (not the trustees) at Friends of Street Children (FSC), Kitwe. They are heroic, soldiering on, often in very difficult circumstances. In the fifteen years that Romilly’s has been involved with FSC they have shown great dedication. Without them FSC would be no more than a collection of empty buildings. Through them your donations change the lives of very vulnerable homeless children. The alternative is terrible: on the Streets of Kitwe, homeless children are open to every kind of abuse.

Small regular donations make a huge difference. Just one hundred monthly standing orders of £20/month would cover the staff’s salaries and some of the other expenses. Please make a monthly donation here: https://checkout.justgiving.com/c/3333173

Spread a little warmth with your winter fuel payment. More street children than ever need our support

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Remember that dreadful moment when the teacher summoned you to the blackboard in front of the rest of the class?

The pandemic brought record numbers of street children to the safety of the two shelters in Kitwe. The pandemic has also brought rampant inflation and economic uncertainty and so we are appealing to anyone who receives a Winter Fuel Allowance but does not need some, or all of it, to make a donation so that we can continue to support Friends of Street Children and their mission to help these very vulnerable children.

How to support our Winter Appeal

You can donate some or all of your Winter Fuel Allowance using the donation links below. A donation can make a big difference to these children.

  • £365 will pay the salary of a staff member for three months.
  • £200 will pay for food for ten children for a month
  • £100 will pay to educate three children for a whole year at secondary school.

You can make a donation through Virgin Money Giving here:

https://www.givey.com/romillyforshallfoundation

From Street Child to Science Teacher Draft

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Kunda Benson teaching at the Friends of Street Children (FSC) shelter for boys at Kawama

We have written about Kunda before. He came to the FSC as a street child.

For many street children getting back into mainstream education after months, or years of living rough is very difficult. To find the grit to catch up, slog through year after year of exams, moving up through the school system, and into higher education requires imagination and determination. Kunda did not find it easy, but succeeded and qualified as a teacher. Throughout this long progress, he had always said that he wanted to help other homeless children. While waiting for a post in the Zambian national education system, he is teaching at FSC. As an ex street child he is an inspiration.

Zambia has many dialects, including 7 major languages. Kunda writes on the black board in English, but the class is taught in Bemba, which all the boys understand, even if their mother tongue is different: quite a challenge though.

The aim is to get the street children in the class up to a level at which they can rejoin mainstream education. Should they achieve this, the cost of sending a child to school is 2000 kwatcha a year ( £65 at the time of writing), and half this for a child attending primary school. A uniform costing £12 will also have to be found for each child. Uniforms are passed down, but eventually they wear out.

Depending on the exchange rate, Kunda’s 3 year teacher training course cost about £370 a year. This was paid thanks to the generosity of Romilly’s supporters and donors. There are currently a number of children at the shelter who have the ability and determination to enter higher academic or vocational education, but cannot do so for lack of funds. Most courses could be paid for with a donation of £30 pounds a month. These children have had a very rough start and helping Kunda has been very rewarding.

You can donate at:

https://www.givey.com/donations/new?charity_id=11250

Water Music II

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Thank you Mia de las Casa for organising the concert; to Johnny May and Fausto Cassar for playing and to Jimmy Moore and Stella Stewart for hosting it on their boat. Thank you all for all the work and energy you put into it, and thank you to all those who gave so generously. Altogether you raised £700. Romilly’s charity transfers £1100/month to pay the salaries of the dedicated, long suffering staff at FSC, a Zambian NGO, who do so much for the very vulnerable street children of Kitwe. FSC would not exist without the generosity of people like you. Thank you.

As you can see, Fausto does not just play at charity concerts, but also at all kinds of events, including weddings. He is classically trained and teaches classical guitar. Telephone 0770975193. Email gabriellecassar@gmail.com

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Stay in touch: If you would like to receive the occasional news letter to let you know about the work being done by Romilly’s Charity and fund raising events, please fill in the contact form below

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Please donate here: https://www.givey.com/donations/new?charity_id=11250

Water Music

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Tonight a small, select audience of friends will gather on a boat on the Thames. They are there to hear a selection of classical music performed by Edmund May on piano and Fausto Cassara, on guitar. The boat is the home of Jimmy Moore and Stella Stewart and the whole evening was masterminded by Mia de las Casas.

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To all the audience, Romilly’s charity thanks you on behalf of the homeless children of Kitwe. Thank you Mia, Stella, Jimmy, Fausto and Edmund. What a really splendid idea. Thank you for your support for a very worthwhile cause.

If you would like to donate click here: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/donation-web/charity?charityId=1003642&stop_mobi=yes

Seven Days before Valentine’s Day

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A fading photo of a smiling girl,

A flame upon a vase of flowers,

The sun upon your shining hair,

A smile that shines through all these years,

Eyes of fun catch old heart’s tears,

Bring back the warmth of long ago

To this cool February day,

That waits beyond my windowpane.

Daughter and Father Team run for Romilly in the Bristol 10k Saturday 5th May

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At Christmas Laura, who is twenty decided that she wanted to do something to commemorate the death of her cousin twenty years ago. She bought herself and her father, Sam, tickets to race in the Bristol 10K this Sunday 5th May. Her aim is to raise money for the care of street children, which Romilly’s charity supports. Sam says that it was quite hard to begin with, being dragged outside to train in the wet and cold, but that he is now in peak physical condition. They keen to go.

If you missed the opportunity to sponsor Miki, and would like to help Romilly to help street children, please sponsor Laura and Sam here: https://www.givey.com/donations/new?charity_id=11250

If you would like to hear how Laura and Sam get on in the Bristol 10k, and how Romilly is helping street children, by receiving our occasional newsletter, please fill in the form below.

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Ex-street children on their way.

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At the very least Friends of Street Children (FSC) provide homeless, very vulnerable children with a respite from the abusive, filthy life of the street. Beyond this,

Boys, classroom, Kitwe, Zambia, Africa, education
Meya Mbulo with boys in the classroom at Friends of Street Children shelter Kitwe

the aim is to reintegrate them with whatever remains of their families, and while these are being traced, get them back to school. School is one of the best ways to keep the children off the street, as well as equip them for life. Primary school fees are £33 and secondary school fees are £65 p.a per pupil at the time of writing. You can donate here.

In the picture above children pose in the classroom with teacher and administrator Meya Mbulo.  Meya has dedicated her life to street children. No one who has seen her in action with the children on the streets of Kitwe can doubt her compassion, dedication and courage. Through thick and thin, and there have been some very thin times, she has soldiered on.

Help Meya help these children. Donate here:   https://www.givey.com/donations/new?charity_id=11250

If you would like news of Meya’s work and how the children she cares for are progressing please fill in the form below.

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From Street Child to Teacher

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” I walk more than 6 kms to school and back. It is great excercise but sometimes I get too tired”, says Kunda Benson. When he was very young, five years old, both Kunda’s parents died and he ended up homeless, living on the streets from 1999 to 2002. He was taken into care by Friends of Street Children in Kitwe (FSC). Kunda had the imagination to see that it was worth going back to school, which, with FSC’s help, he did. He had the character and determination to pass his exams year after year, while also helping at the FSC shelter.  He succeeded in passing the exams to take a place on a teacher training course. Now he will be taking his final exams in April, which will enable him to start his teaching practice. Kunda has always wanted to give something back and still helps at the FSC shelter.

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Kunda in the lab.

Kunda’s choice may seem like the obvious one, but not to all street children. For many, the idea of submitting to the discipline of the classroom in order to achieve long term goals is too difficult. Kunda has shown real imagination, tremendous purpose and determination, but there are other street children like Kunda, who follow his example. Their school fees need to be paid. Currently  these are about £88 p.a per child in secondary school, depending on the exchange rate. If you would like to donate to support street children returning to school, please go to https://www.givey.com/donations/new?charity_id=11250

Thanks to the donors and supporters of Romilly, the college fees of this exceptional young man have been paid for the last three years. Thank you all. Kunda writes, ‘I am so thankful for everything that you are doing for me and I am deeply humbled’.

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Kunda Benson ex Street Child, and, thanks to Romilly’s generous supporters, Trainee Teacher.

After his teaching practice he will return to college for six more months. If you would like to contribute to his fees for this, please donate at

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/donation-web/charity?charityId=1003642&stop_mobi=yes