The total amount raised by Abingdon School for a charity in Moldova has now surpassed £100,000.
The independent school has worked in partnership with Agape, a charity that helps disadvantaged young people in Moldova, for over 20 years.
Abingdon students have spent much of their school life fundraising for the charity, which supplies school equipment to deprived school students in one of Europe’s poorest countries.
The school’s ‘Moldova Project’ supports disadvantaged young people in a country that has experienced years of political instability, economic decline and more recently the global pandemic.
Leading the project is Abingdon teacher Adam Jenkins, who said the project was not only about fundraising money but instilling a desire to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate.
A sponsored walk in October last year saw a record-breaking number of staff and students taking part. The event achieved the amount of £15,200, bringing the overall amount fundraised by the school since 2000 to £100,000.
It is truly transformational, creating experiences that have changed the destiny of many young people and teachers here – Nicu Bocaneala, Agape
The charity used a fraction of the fundraised amount to buy books, school supplies and sweets as Christmas presents to 100 disadvantaged children in the city of Ialoveni and neighbouring villages Vasieni, Ulmu and Floreni.
Jenkins continued: “In 2003, some of our students visited Moldova on our first trip to the country, where they were able to see for themselves how our donations were being used; until the pandemic intervened, a group has returned every year since then to organise summer camps for children from Ialoveni and the surrounding villages.
“Abingdon sixth formers have taught English lessons, organised art, drama and music sessions, led film-making and photography workshops, and run lots of sporting activities, even managing to successfully introduce the concept of cricket to Moldova.”
Nicu Bocaneala, director of Agape, said: “The partnership between Abingdon School and Agape is of incredible value as, especially in these current very difficult times, it means so much to those who benefit from the donations that someone is thinking of them. It is truly transformational, creating experiences that have changed the destiny of many young people and teachers here.”
You might also like: Independent schools partner with sports injury charity
