Charity Awards 2010
A University of Nottingham student led charity has won a major national award for its work in Africa.READ International won ‘Best International Aid and Development Charity’ at the Charity Awards 2010 in London.
READ International was founded in 2004 by Politics student Rob Wilson, who, with a group of students, was appalled by the lack of resources in Tanzanian schools. In Tanzania and Uganda, children are taught from an English syllabus very similar to that of the UK, yet there is a severe lack of educational resources available.
They recruited student volunteers to gather disused textbooks from local secondary schools, sort them so only the relevant, good quality books are sent and fundraised to ship the books out. Since then close to 850,000 textbooks have been sent to East Africa, saving over 550 tonnes from landfill and contributing to the education of 260,000 children in Tanzania.
Rob, who earlier this year won a Daily Mail Enterprising Young Brit Award is delighted for the charity: “This is huge for READ. It shows genuinely prestigious recognition for all the amazing dedication and hard work our student volunteers put in to collecting, sorting, packing and distributing the hundreds of thousands of books we now deal with annually.
“Not to mention all the incredible support and fundraising efforts too. We can’t do what we do without everyone playing their part — and we should all feel really proud to be involved in this great charity.”
Daniel Phelan, organiser of the Charity Awards 2010 said: “Over the years many wonderful charities have been recognised by the Charity Awards, showing how much fantastic work takes place within the sector.
“What the winning charities all have in common is their ability to turn innovation, passion and vision into an effective project or organisation demonstrating considerable impact. It’s vital that we acknowledge these achievements, which is why I’m delighted READ International has won the International aid and development award.
“It is a fantastic organisation and the award is thoroughly deserved. I congratulate everyone involved.”
Rob, together with national manager Rosie Blackie and Vice Chairman Martin Farell collected the award at a gala dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel in front of 1,000 of the charity world’s most senior representatives and celebrity guests including Jo Brand, Greta Scacchi, Lynda Bellingham, Jon Snow and Peter Bowles, who presented awards in ten categories.
