The 'Be a Good Egg' campaign run by Christian charity World Emergency Relief (WER) has received its first donation from a school after Tenby Junior School raised more than £250 - enough to send 42 chickens to lay eggs for impoverished families in Africa.

More than 50 plucky children at the school took part, raising funds over the Easter period by donating money they would otherwise have spent on chocolate Easter eggs.

The children were each presented with 'Good Egg' certificates by Alex Haxton, chief executive of the 'Be a good egg' campaign. He and colleague Therese Whitcomb-Eriksson dressed in chicken and egg costumes to talk to the children about the charity's work and present them with their certificates.

"This is the first of what we hope will be many donations from schools," says Alex Haxton, who is also director of operations at World Emergency Relief.

"The campaign has been developed with children in mind and is an ideal format for schools to adopt as a chosen charity. It's fun but also meaningful, and can support the curriculum in many areas from maths to geography to religious education."

It costs WER around £6.00 to fund a laying hen in Africa, which includes helping towards its feed and housing. Each chicken will lay around 120 eggs a year, which will help feed children who have very little to eat and provide families with a small income if they're also able to sell some of the eggs.

At Tenby Junior School, the children brought in empty egg boxes from home, turned them into collecting boxes using 'Be a good egg' wrappers supplied by the campaign, and then filled them with pocket money and coppers over the Easter period, using money that would have been spent on chocolate eggs to create real eggs instead.

When all the collecting boxes came back, they were emptied and then put in the school's compost bin, and a cheque for the total amount sent to WER.

"The children have a real sense of achievement," says teacher Nan Dowell who co-ordinated the fundraising. "It was great to hear from the charity about how the money would be turned into chickens and eggs, and what a difference it will make.

"We're also hoping to get some pictures of the actual chickens we've helped fund and the children who are benefiting. That will help make it all the more real for our pupils, and encourage even more fundraising next Easter."



On the web: www.beagoodegg.com