Charity’s first Government-backed public appeal raises over £500,000

Hope for Children, an international children’s charity, has raised over £500,000 through its Head Held High appeal. Thanks to the generosity of the UK public, and match funding from the Government, the charity will now be able to help thousands more vulnerable children get access to quality education in Africa.

The Head Held High appeal was selected by the Department for International Development (DFID) for its UK Aid Match scheme last year, and the appeal total includes over £242,000 of match funding, the charity’s first Government grant.

Funds raised by the appeal will now be used to transform the lives of at least 1,500 children living in poverty and ensure they have access to a quality education. Without an education, children as young as 6 years are often forced to work in fields, pick scraps or are exposed to the daily dangers of wandering the streets or slums they live in.

The UK aid match funding will support the charity’s education-based projects in rural, northern Ghana. In this region, children are 4 times more likely to be out of school than the rest of the country, and a shocking 1 in 5 are still involved in hazardous forms of child labour.

Funds raised from the Head Held High appeal will now fund activities including providing school books and uniforms, as well as running teacher training programmes to improve the quality of education available. These activities will start as early as May 2018. Funds raised by the appeal will also be used to support the charity’s education projects in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

Throughout the appeal, the charity’s supporters got behind the appeal through making donations, hosting company fundraising days, and attending events such as the charity’s annual Hope Ball in October.

Murielle Maupoint, Hope for Children CEO, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity of our supporters, old and new. The incredible reaction to the Head Held High appeal means that we will now be able to have a major impact on the lives of thousands of vulnerable children through quality education, and give them the chance to break free from poverty.”

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said: “Thank you to the generous members of the public who supported Hope for Children’s Head Held High appeal and helped to raise over £500,000.

“Together, we’ve ensured that Hope for Children can help twice as many children who are out of school, to receive text books, uniforms, teachers, and overall - a quality education.”

Find out more about Hope for Children at https://www.hope-for-children.org

For media contact Ed Fletcher at ef@hope4c.org or 01442 234561

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