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Children who come into the classroom at Sunderland's
Stadium of Light are being told about a project called Free
School India.
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| Many
young children in India work instead of going to
school |
The charity is currently helping to build a new school
in a village called Charkarsi, around a hundred miles North of
India's capital city Delhi.
Around 40% of India's 40 million children don't go to
school - and many of them work illegally instead.
Although education is free, items such as uniforms and
school books, although cheap, are beyond the reach of the
poorest families.
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| North East children can send pictures and
messages to India |
Thanks to Free School India, the children of Chakarsi
will soon have a brand new school to go to.
And thanks to Sunderland Football Club, those children
will also be receiving photographs, drawings and messages of
support from the North East of England.
Joanna Harma, from Thursby near Carlisle, went to India
in March intending to stay for just a few months.
But after seeing the plight of local children, she
decided to stay and set up a school offering free education to
young girls who would otherwise go without.
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| Joanna is helping the children of Chakarsi get an
education |
Joanna Harma says:"These are
people who know nothing about the world outside.
"Thanks to this association with the football club,
they will know that there are people out there who are
thinking about them. It will make a huge difference to people
living in this area, which is one of the poorest in
India."
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| The
school begins to take shape |
BBC producer Debby
Waldron who went to Chakarsi to make two films for Look North
says:
"The link with Sunderland Football Club will bring
together two very different cultures, and establish a bond on
a peronal level, not just an educational one.
"Filming in the classroom at the Stadium of Light, and
then the village of Chakarsi, brought home to me how very
lucky we are in this country to have such excellent
facilities. Hopefully this arrangement will have a similar
effect on the children."
You can find out more about the project at www.free-school.org
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