School pupils invited to walk for Hope

Hope for Children – set up by Warners End humanitarian worker Dr Bob Parsons in 1994 – is aiming to engage more with the Dacorum community in its 20th anniversary year.

On Friday, October 17, which also marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, primary schools in the area are invited to talk in the Walk for Hope – a non-uniform walk around their school hall or field.

A Hope spokesman said: “The aim of this event is to get children from schools here in the UK to gain an appreciation of how far some of the children we support have to travel daily to gain an education.

“Pupils will donate a small fee to wear their own clothes and will also receive sponsorship for the walk itself, which is recommended to be around a mile long.

“The idea behind Walk for HOPE comes from our Walk to School programmes in Uganda and the Philippines, which provide children from deprived areas with a place at school and equipment.

“Not only do these programmes represent the literal walking or travel to get to school, they also represent the journey as a whole towards receiving an education, from the emotional support that parents give their children to supplying children with the equipment they need in order to learn.

“HOPE provides these children with school placements, equipment and food, and also runs activities during the holidays to keep the children active and engaged in a safe environment.”

For more information or to get your school involved in the walk, call the charity on 01442 234561 or email [email protected].