The Mara 2 Elfrida Project is attempting to raise vital funds for children living in the aftermath of the ebola crisis in Sierra Leone. You can visit our website at www.mara2elfrida.com or follow us on Facebook at Mara2Elfrida.

We have been inspired by Perthshire schoolgirl Mara, a 14 year old who has spent the last 3 years raising vital funds to send to her friend Elfrida in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Mara has a close bond with her older friend Jilly whose late husband was from Freetown, Sierra Leone. Jilly has seen firsthand the struggles being faced by so many young people in the area. Many of these young children have lost absolutely everyone and everything they ever had. Jilly travels from Scotland to support them as often as she can and has now "adopted" 6 children there, including Elfrida. She is working hard to support them and with the help of young Mara, they are a 2 woman operation fighting hard for change. Your support is priceless.

Mara and Elfrida are the same age and Mara felt an instant connection to her. She wants to do everything she can to make Elfrida's life in Sierra Leone a little easier. Most of all she'd like to help her get back to school and make her home a little safer. So far Mara has done the most wonderful job and thanks to her hardwork through fundraising bake sales and sponsored activities, Elfrida and her new family have been able to do lots of improvements on their modest hut. This includes adding mosquito netting, fitting a modern toilet, purchasing a mattress for everyone to share and much more. They can also now rely on a bowl of rice every single morning and at last, Elfrida has an older person around to help take care of her.

We are delighted to see Elfrida's life being transformed through her friendship with Mara but this is an ongoing task and we would love to be able to offer the same level of support to the children living all around her. The aim of this project is to raise vital funds for other children in this area who have nobody to turn to. We'd like to see them off the streets, eating regular meals and getting an education. Every little helps and each donation helps us move towards this goal. For example, £3.00 is enough to purchase basic stationary for a child to attend school. £5 buys a significant supply of rice. £50 would allow us to keep our website up and running for another year and continue raising funds.

Thanks so much for all of your support