Fry up to raise cash for Africa

It aims to raise money for running water in Kahara, Africa. The special fundraiser is part of Charlene’s Project which was set up by Charlene Barr in 2009 to give children in Africa access to education.

The Dollingstown teenager’s life was cut short on October 30, 2010 when her condition, Cystic Fibrosis, deteriorated and hopes of a double lung transplant didn’t work out. Charlene’s story lives on as the Barr family continue her good work through fundraising like the ‘Big Fry Up’.

Her father, Richard Barr, said the support for Charlene’s project has been overwhelming:“I’m so proud of everyone who has supported the project along the way,” he said.

“There have been some very generous donations. There are so many children giving too. We had a situation when a girl brought round a wee jam jar with her birthday money in it that she wanted to give to support Charlene’s Project. Time and time again we have come across that children just giving their little bit. It’s all those little bits that count.”

Families in Northern Ireland currently sponsor 100 children in Africa through Charlene’s project. The charity built the new Hidden Treasure School in Maya, Uganda, in June 2011 and hope to build a second school in Kahara later next year.

When Charlene first arrived at the Maya school, in 2008, there were around 60 children being taught in wooden structures. Through the help of Charlene’s project, over 300 children now attend Hidden Treasure. The pupils have electricity, computers and thanks to money raised by Waringstown Primary School, they have new text books. More than 300 pupils currently go to Kahara school but conditions are difficult. One of the classrooms is open under a branch roof and another is a mud structure. Many of the children in this rural community are barefoot.

Charlene’s father believes that it is those children’s stories that captured his daughter’s heart a big way. He said: “Charlene empathised with the children a lot. Part of Charlene’s story was how her life started. She spent her first year in hospital. She came into our home as a foster child and that proceeded on to adoption but I think seeing so many orphans, vulnerable children with probably some similar experience to her but she would say you know if I had Cystic Fibrosis, over here in Uganda, I wouldn’t have lived as long. She saw how hard the children wanted to work and in difficult situations with very little by way of resources. It really impacted her. From she was there in 2008 she clearly saw a bigger picture of need and something that she really wanted to invest what life she had left in.”