I shall be participating in the London Triathlon on August 10th to raise money for the African children I was lucky enough to teach last year.

My goal in the triathlon is to finish -  before tuesday. There are some good features of being slow, as Jan said, I should be able to find my bike after the swim - it will be the only one left.   

The children I met in Africa were varied, but they were all kind to me, sociable, enthusiastic, curious and responsible, many had responsibilities which should have been beyond their years. Some of them were very bright and some hard working, a few were both, in the UK they would have had a very successful future ahead of them.

You can see them on  www.jawhs.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!9A2C2CF826008DBF!206/

You can see they share desks and seats, there are no windows, in some rooms the roof is coming down, the floors give off dust, the only teaching aids are blackboards and chalk, no electricity, not enough teachers, not enough teaching resources - not the sort of learning environment we expect today in the UK, perhaps a 100 years ago.

Yet they are learning, most work quite hard, they have fun, are positive and enjoy life - perhaps more that their counterparts in the UK.

They are entitled to better things, please help them by being generous.

Thank you for your help, interest and support, these kids deserve better, please be kind to them.

Thanks again,

Andy