Beaconhurst School supports Project Education

I thought that Christmas Eve would be a lovely time to tell you all about the fantastic success of our Christmas fundraiser carol concert which was run by Beaconhurst School and raised money for Project Education.

Pendo two years ago, and Pendo this Christmas - starting school in January! 

I attended Beaconhurst School from the age of 4 until 18 so I have many fond memories of it.  The school has a fantastic music and drama department and I enjoyed taking part in many musicals and concerts during my time there.  My mum is a teacher at the school, and it was on her suggestion that I approached Mr Bain – the head of music at Beaconhurst School – in late May about the possibility of the school holding a concert to raise money for The Small Things.  Although I knew that the term calendar would already be very full with other exciting things, I trusted her advice and asked Mr Bain what he thought.  To my delight he was extremely enthusiastic and supportive of the idea and suggested that he organise a Christmas Carol Service in which many pupils from the school would take part! 

David this Christmas, starting school in January!

David when we started work with Nkoaranga

The concert was held in Dunblane Cathedral on 13^th of December and included a range of different music performed by pupils and teachers of all ages.  We organised a slideshow of pictures of the kids and mamas from Nkoaranga Orphanage to play before the concert began, to give the audience an idea of who the concert was raising money for.  Both the junior and senior choirs performed, and the audience also enjoyed listening to duets, ensembles and solos.  After a short speech which told them a bit more about the The Small Things and the work we do, the audience tucked into some mince pies and mulled wine during the interval.  One of the highlights of the evening was the more light hearted sing-off between the two sides of the audience: one side sang ‘It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas’ with great gusto, whilst the other side were determined to out-sing them with the less well known ‘Pine Cones and Holly Berries’!

I wish to say a huge thank you to everyone who made the concert such a success.  I want to thank my family so much for all their support of the concert.  I also want to extend a special thank you to all the staff at Beaconhurst School who were involved in organising the concert – I know from experience how much effort goes into such an event, and without their hard work it just wouldn't have happened.  And of course, a massive thank you needs to go to all the pupils who performed so fantastically on the night!  Finally, thank you to everyone who came to support Beaconhurst School and The Small Things – I cannot thank you enough.

Tumaini  with Baba Christmas 2 years ago

Christmas Tumaini this year, about to
 start her third year with TFFT!

The final amount which was raised was over £1000 which was incredible!  The exact figure is still to be confirmed, but I will let you know as soon as I can.  All proceeds will go to Project Education, which will allow four of our beautiful children to begin school this January (less than a month to go!).  I am so lucky that I will be returning to Nkoaranga Orphanage in time to see Pendo, David, Abdulli and Andrea start school with The Foundation for Tomorrow.  It is because of everyone who has supported Project Education that this can happen, so I just want to finish by thanking you all for giving these children the change to become the incredible young people that they are meant to be.

From all The Small Things' board members, and on behalf of the Mamas and kids (who had an amazing time with Baba Christmas today, and are looking forward to their Christmas meal tomorrow!) of Nkoaranga Orphanage, I wish you all a very happy Christmas!