KIND-HEARTED pupils carried water for five miles to raise more than £2,00 to help empower African villagers to lead a self-sufficient and sustainable life.

The youngsters walked from Totnes to St Christopher’s Prep School and Nursery in Staverton in aid of the Kanyike Project.

The school has supported the charity for 25 years. Father Kakuba Kapai is the driving force behind the project, which started in 1986 in an area of Uganda devastated by many years of war.

Fr Kakuba visits the Staverton school biannually to join in with its harvest celebrations and to let the pupils know how the money they have raised is helping children in the Kanyike village.

During his last visit Fr Kakuba explained that the money the Staverton pupils had raised meant the Ugandan school could supply a hot meal each day for all of its pupils

Headteacher Alexandra Cottell said: “I am so proud of all of the children from Reception to Year 6 who completed the five mile walk.

“They took it in turns to carry small buckets of water along the way and the Year 6 prefects walked with their classes to help the younger children.

“We had a biscuit and squash stop at Dartington, which I think was the highlight of the morning!

“Despite walking so far, they all ran across Staverton Playing Field to the finish line.

“It truly was a whole school community event.”

The sponsored walk raised £2,085 for the project, plus another £448.75 in Gift Aid. The school also raised £430 for the Kanyike Project at its recent harvest festival.

For more information about the charity visit https://www.kanyikeproject.org.uk