Bancroft’s raises the Roof

On Thursday 26 June, Prep School pupils were joined at assembly by  Bishop Aaron Kilanjali of the Diocese of Kagera in Tanzania.  He was at School to receive a cheque for £4,000 for the “Raise the Roof” appeal for the Mugoma Health Centre in Tanzania.

The money had been raised by members of North House in the Senior School through their “Roaring 20s” themed family evening.  In addition, the Prep School has raised a further £1,500, partly by some of the proceeds from its annual Charity Day and partly from a sponsored 5K run in which a number of staff and pupils took part.

The Mugoma Health Centre Health will serve a desperately poor part of north west Tanzania, working primarily with children and mothers in an area with a high rate of infant mortality.  The centre is the dream of a local health worker, Edwin, who wanted a lasting memorial to Dr Annabelle Joyce who had done much valuable work in the community.  The local people had donated the land but there were no funds for the building itself.  Dr Ciaran Joyce, who is the father to Iona, Theo and Lucy.  three of our pupils,  has driven forward fund raising and has previously spoken at Bancroft’s about the project, inspiring pupils to help with raise money for the roof of the hospital.

The Bishop thanked the pupils, “This means a lot to me as a Bishop, but also a lot to the people who I serve.” He also said that the support of Bancroft’s has been fundamental to the project and that a bond has been created which extends beyond the raising of money.