The Christmas rush hit School – Aid this year as there was an urgent request for 400 boxes (8 pallet loads) of books for to Eritrea.

In addition, work had to go on with preparation of some 40 pallet loads of items to go to South Africa in January. These will be transported to Cape Town and from there distributed to a number of schools. Some are going as far as Johannessburg. Two or three pallet loads will be going to Sparrow Village. Sparrow Village is the Berkhamsted Bulbourne Rotary Club's project and it has been chosen as this year's  District Inner Wheel Overseas Service Project.

It is also more desperate this year as School – Aid has to vacate their warehouse early in the New Year.

So with Inner Wheel / Rotary and School – Aid we have completed a full circle and the advantages of networking in our organisation.

With this Christmas rush, several came to the rescue and volunteered to help Sandra Maizels and Jeannette Lee do some urgent sorting and packing.. There were three members from Amersham - Eileen Charlton, Mary Langley and Margaret Bowler; two from Hoddesdon - Rosemary Ryan and Millie Skelton; and one from Leighton Buzzard - Carole Wagstaff,

They all worked extremely hard and managed to sort and pack some 100 boxes!

School – Aid have thanked Inner Wheel District 26 not only for this hands on effort and the general support in providing the many of the items so desperately needed but also for those members that volunteered but could not attend.