UK boy’s efforts for children sweeten Christmas in hospital
THE plight of South African children destined to spend Christmas in hospital moved a young British boy so deeply that he worked for more than two months selling toffee apples to raise money to give them sweets and gifts.
William Wright, six, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, in England started the project after his parents, who were planning to spend their holiday in Cape Town last month, told him there were children who didn’t have the life he did.
His mother, Lucy Wright, who is a therapist familiar with the Community Arts Therapy programme, told her son about the work done in communities such as Nyanga and Gugulethu.
The programme has been providing art therapy to children every week since July, as it did for several months a few years ago.
From October, William, with the help of his mother, sold toffee apples made using fruit from their garden.
“He felt very sad after hearing about children who didn’t have the same opportunities as he did,” Lucy Wright said yesterday.
“He surprised me because for someone his age, William was determined to raise the money.
“He would stand by the stall we set up outside our house in the sun under a little umbrella. Sometimes he would be out there for two hours waiting for people to come by and buy an apple.”
By December, William had raised more than R2 700, enough to make 60 Christmas gifts, which they handed out at the Maitland Cottage Hospital on December 26.
“When we got back home William had a lot of questions and was curious about the children and why most of the parents weren’t with them in hospital,” she said.
Wright said William was eager to start a new project, but this time he planned to include his classmates.
The programme’s art psychotherapist, Angela Rackstraw, said it had been touching to see the effect William’s gesture had on the children in the hospital.
“Every child received a gift bag which had a large assortment of sweets, as William wanted. In addition to this, each child also received a toothbrush with toothpaste, biscuits, and a small toy,” she said.
Rackstraw said William appeared to be shy at first, but enjoyed the interaction with other children his age.