Year Eight students '˜hit the floor sleeping' for Ethiopian street kids

More than 180 Year 8 pupils at Ballyclare Secondary school literally took fundraising to floor level recently when they went without their beds for one night in aid of Hope365 which works to provide beds for street kids in Ethiopia.
Submitted Picture.Submitted Picture.
Submitted Picture.

They raised a magnificent total of £863 which will be used by the charity to buy beds for children in their Tesfa Manoriya Bota or Hope Home in Shashemene, Ethiopia.

Stacey McAuley, a pupil at Ballyclare Secondary School, said: “We wanted to raise funds for Hope365 after learning about the plight of hundreds of children, some as young as seven or eight, who have to sleep on the streets of Shashemene, Ethiopia, every night.

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“We decided to ask our friends and families to sponsor us to sleep on the floor in our homes, which was certainly tougher than sleeping on a comfy bed but nowhere near as difficult as the conditions that the children in Ethiopia have to endure each and every night on the streets.”

The Year Eight students spell out the beneficiary of their charity fundraising using sleeping bags. (Submitted Picture).The Year Eight students spell out the beneficiary of their charity fundraising using sleeping bags. (Submitted Picture).
The Year Eight students spell out the beneficiary of their charity fundraising using sleeping bags. (Submitted Picture).

Michael Holmes, chief executive of Hope365, said: “I was blown away by their level of enthusiasm to help. We really appreciate the pupils raising this significant sum for Hope365 and we commend them for rising to the challenge of sleeping on their floors for one night.To raise awareness further the pupils were game enough to brave the elements on a cold winter morning recently to lie on the playground in coal sacks, something the Ethiopian street kids try to find to help them stay warm overnight, spelling out Hope365, which was clearly visible from the air.”

Michael will be travelling to Ethiopia over Easter and will be installing plaques, specially made by the Ballyclare Secondary School’s technology department, in the kids’ bedrooms which the children from Year 8 have funded.