More than 50 plucky children at Tenby Junior School have been named official 'Good Eggs' after raising enough money to send 42 chickens to impoverished families in Africa. The children, aged seven to 11, were presented with 'Good Egg' certificates at their school assembly yesterday (Thursday). Together, they managed to raise an egg-cellent £255 over the Easter period by donating money they would otherwise have spent on chocolate Easter eggs. The school was pleased to learn that they were the first in the UK to present the charity with a donation. The certificates were presented by Alex Haxton, chief egg-ecutive of the 'Be a good egg' campaign which is run by international development charity World Emergency Relief (WER). He and colleague Therese Whitcomb-Eriksson dressed in chicken and egg costumes to talk to the children about the charity's work and present them with their certificates. "The children here have been so generous," says Alex Haxton, who is also director of operations at World Emergency Relief. "They've each made a little sacrifice to raise this money, which is going to literally be life-changing for children in developing countries. "It costs us around £6 to fund a laying hen in Africa, which includes helping towards its feed and housing. Each chicken will lay around 120 eggs a year, which means the Tenby children have in effect donated more than 5,000 eggs over the next 12 months. These will help feed children who have very little to eat, and provide families with a small income if they're also able to sell some of the eggs. I can't tell you what a difference it will make, and the Tenby pupils should be very proud of their act of charity." To raise the money the children brought in empty egg boxes from home, turned them into collecting boxes using 'Be a good egg' wrappers supplied by the campaign, and then filled them with pocket money and coppers over the Easter period - using money that would have been spent on chocolate eggs to create real eggs instead." When all the collecting boxes came back, they were emptied and then put in the school's compost bin, and a cheque for the total amount sent to WER. "The children have a real sense of achievement," says teacher Nan Dowell who co-ordinated the fund-raising. "It was great to hear from the charity about how the money would be turned into chickens and eggs, and what a difference it will make. "We're also hoping to get some pictures of the actual chickens we've helped fund and the children who are benefiting. That will help make it all the more real for our pupils, and encourage even more fundraising next Easter." The 'Be a good egg' campaign runs year round. Any school, community group or individual can find out more or order a 'Be a good egg' kit by visiting http://www.beagoodegg.com">www.beagoodegg.com or calling 0844 2492129.
