A 13-year-old British girl from Christ’s Hospital School in Horsham is shaving her head in a bid to sell and raise funds to build classrooms in Kenya.
Lydia Thornhill is doing so in memory of her mum, who lost her battle with cancer five years ago.
It is hoped this fundraising initiative dubbed Classrooms for Kenya will also raise awareness for Cancer Research, as she will be donating her hair to the Little Princess Trust through Macmillan’s Brave the Shave campaign.
The Little Princess Trust provides real hair wigs free of charge to children and young people up to the age of 24, who have lost their own hair due to cancer treatment and other conditions.
On Saturday, June 29, 2019, Lydia will complete the challenge meaning she will be completely bald when she travels with around 50 other students to Kitale to help construct new school buildings for the charity next month.
During the Kenya visit, the pupils are planning to build six new classrooms in three different schools with each pupil aiming to raise close to Kshs 38,949. Collectively, they have already surpassed this target by almost approximately Kshs 780.
The pupils have sacrificed asking for sixteenth birthday presents to participate in other fundraising activities that include taking part in runs and triathlons, cake sales and asking for donations.
Classrooms for Kenya was established in 2006 by teachers and students at The Weald School in West Sussex.
Since 2006 the charity has built over 70 new classrooms for over 20 different schools in Kenya.
It is hoped that the trip will prove to be both a powerful and life-shaping experience for the pupils as well as giving them the opportunity to experience the natural beauty of the East African country.
