CHILDREN at a Wordsley school are in a race against time to raise £4,000 for fellow pupils in Africa.

Brook Primary School, George Street, has just days left to hit their target for a vital donation of equipment to the Outspan School in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

The cash will pay transport costs and taxes for 130 tables and 200 chairs from Brook Primary, providing a massive boost for their international partner school, which receives no state funding.

The project, which organisers are aiming to complete by the end of October, will mean the urgently needed supplies can begin their journey.

Sheryl Nicklin, PHSE leader at Brook Primary, said: “It’s going to make an incredible difference, every child will be able to sit at a table in comfort.

“The equipment they have at the moment is in a shoddy state, it is wooden and rotting, there is a great need.”

The Outspan school’s 488 pupils rely on sponsorships and donations for their education and provides food from a farm garden in the school grounds.

Around 72 children, aged from three, live at the school after being abandoned by relatives.

The project will also offer benefits closer to home by helping pupils in Stourbridge understand more about life in the poverty stricken suburbs of Kampala.

Brook Primary head, Lynn Cartwright, said: “Donating our old classroom furniture to Outspan School is just a starting point for addressing the needs of children living in difficult circumstances.

“Through this project we aim for our children to become more aware if international development issues, having growing empathy with the pupils at our link school in Uganda, appreciating their similarities and celebrating differences.”

Brook Primary has been hosting a series of fundraising activities, focusing on the 4112 miles between the schools with their Buy A Mile To Kampala campaign, urging businesses to take part by buying miles for the furniture’s journey.

Meanwhile, children will be rounding off fundraising with a Passport to Uganda sponsored walk event, where they will collect fake passport stamps for cities between Birmingham and Kampala by completing laps for the school playground.

The furniture, which was set for the scrapheap, is currently in storage ready to be loaded in to a container for the trip to Uganda, but this can only happen if the school hits its whopping target.

For more information on how to help call 01384 818835.