Putting pen to paper for poverty-hit young

Paper and pens donated in Staffordshire are helping transform the lives of poverty-stricken children in South Africa.

Physiotherapist Jodie Bailey asked Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust to get involved in the Rondevlei School.

He saw conditions in the South African school, near George, first hand. The 23-year-old recently returned from the school after a three-week visit in August. Jodie accompanied a group of youngsters from the Arthur Terry School, in Birmingham, on the trip organised in conjunction with the charity Outward Bound.

Jodie, who works at Stafford and Cannock Chase hospitals, said: "We've been going for the past four years. The school is in the middle of nowhere.

"Most of the children that go there are from settlements in the area that are more like squats.

"When we first went there, they literally had nothing – they were using old beer crates with wood nailed on as desks and chairs so we've helped them get proper equipment."

On her most recent trip, Jodie, from Sutton Coldfield, took a crate of stationery that had been donated by the trust.

"The pens and paper are really important, as they will help the children in their education. I can't thank the Trust enough. They were really good about letting me have the time off too.

"Everyone has been really supportive and helpful – especially chief executive Martin Yeates and my former manager Jackie Winter.

"We had a lot of fun out there, singing, playing games and making things with the children.

"It's lovely to see them playing but it's even more satisfying to see them learning. It's the only way they will ever get out of their poverty. It has been a real life-changing experience for everyone involved.

"It certainly made me realise what an amazing service we have in the NHS.

"On one trip out to a settlement, we saw a lady with terrible leg ulcers.

"Over here, she would've been on a hospital ward, but out there she was just in her home as they have no national healthcare system. It really makes you appreciate what you've got."