Kenyan project backed by car boot sales

Sep 9 2011 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

A KENYAN safari last year proved a life-changing experience for big-hearted Perth woman Dawn Ann Halliwell.

Every weekend since returning from Africa, the tireless 49-year-old has headed for the popular car boot sales at McDiarmid Park – and every penny raised is funding her ambitious bid to transform the lives of poverty-stricken orphans in a remote Kenyan village.

Dawn Ann’s Dunkeld Road home is bursting at the seams with bric-a-brac donated to the cause by friends, neighbours, workmates and customers at Perth’s B&Q.

Already, she has raised more than £13,000 and Dawn Ann is counting down to another trip to Kikambala, an hour’s drive from Mombassa, to spearhead yet more improvements to a community project which is slowly taking shape.

Now she has raised her sights, having seen her initial work paying dividends.

A combination of car boot sales, making home-made tablet and several other fundraisers ensured that all 23 youngsters got their own mattress and mozzie net, with a concrete floor laid and doors installed in the hut.

During a two-week visit in March, Dawn Ann commissioned local tradesmen to start work on a new school, with ground cleared and foundations laid for two classrooms.

“My plan now is to return for 17 days in November to get the roof on, complete the school project and hopefully open the doors to provide these children with a better education and a better chance in life.”

Recalling how her own life has been transformed by the Kenyan adventure, Dawn Ann recalled: “I was on safari in February last year and it was amazing. But some of the locals showed us round schools and orphanages and seeing the conditions the children were living in made my heart sink.

“They had no beds or mosquito nets, they were barely clothed, they got by on a daily meal of porridge or maize flour and they each had just one pencil for schoolwork. Their shelter was a mud hut.

“I couldn’t get those images out of my head when I got back to Perth and decided to try and do something for these kids. They are just so poor in comparison with us.

“Back home I realised just how much stuff we throw away and decided I could raise some money at car boot sales. It has just rolled on from there.”

Surrounded by piles of donated items ranging from books to golf clubs and pictures, she thanked friends, family and everyone who has rallied to the cause.

“I sort out the donations every Saturday but as I work in customer care at B&Q I rely on friends to man the car boot stall every second Sunday.

“Many people also take orders for my home-made tablet, with more than 100 bars sold every week at SSE and 50 or so at Joan’s Hairdresser in the Old High Street.

“Nothing donated goes to waste so donated items tend to take over the house. So far I have had no antiques which turn out to be worth thousands but it all adds up. I’ve sold a picture for £40 and that feeds a child for a month in Kenya.

“It is paying off and I have other plans in mind for the future. It would be nice to install toilets, maybe a wee kitchen and a well – because they can also sell the water – with vegetables growing in the area around the building. Maybe we could even create a playground.

“It could take a year or two, maybe even 10. It all depends on donations and the car boots sales.

“I can’t remember what I did with my free time before all this began. But I am the sort of person who likes a challenge and I like to see it through once I have started.”

l IF PA readers want to support Dawn Ann’s remarkable fundraising drive she can be contacted on Perth 625920.