Adventure of a lifetime for Falmouth schoolboy
11:40am Saturday 9th February 2013 in News
Alan Munden with his son, Billy and wife, Jude, who are now in Gambia, and head teacher, Heather Taylor
A schoolboy from Falmouth has begun a three week adventure of a lifetime in Gambia where he will be seeing for himself the work of an educational charity.
Billy Munden, a year six pupil at King Charles School, travelled to Africa this week with his mother, Jude and 16-year-old sister, Anna, to volunteer with the Gambia Education Trust.
They will be visiting schools supported by the charity and meeting children who are sponsored by well-wishers from around the world.
The family’s involvement with the charity came after Billy found himself with money that his parents wanted him to do some good with rather than spending on himself.
“Billy started busking a few years ago and discovered he could earn quite a lot of money doing that,” said Jude. “I did not particularly want to encourage him to make lots of money for himself because he is only ten and doesn’t need it.
“It seemed like a golden opportunity to foster a sense of altruism, for him to think about others in the world outside our tiny, little one. I was looking around for an idea for what he could raise money for and remembered a friend who I knew was sponsoring kids in Gambia and who had been doing that for a long time.”
The whole Munden family, including dad, Alan, decided to lend their support to the Gambia Education Trust and three of them jumped at the chance to fly out and see first-hand, the work it does.
In support of the family’s African adventure, Billy’s school took a complete break from normal lessons on Friday and held a Gambia Day when children took part in a range of workshops and activities after ditching their uniforms in favour of outfits in the colours of the nation’s flag.
Head teacher, Heather Taylor, said: “Billy has raised well over £1,000 and adopted a child in Gambia and we are now planning to twin with the school he is going to visit. As a school, we want our children to learn about Gambia.
“We set aside a day where all the children are doing lots of arts and crafts, African dance and music workshops, African story-telling and drama – the whole curriculum is being covered. Some children from each year group are mixed together so they have the chance to collaborate and learn from each other.”
