Rwanda kids broke my heart ...and my boys’ hearts too
MCFLY star Tom Fletcher’s familiar warm grin is nowhere to be seen as the street children tell him their harrowing tales.
He is in Rwanda and can hardly believe his ears.
A girl called Odette recounts how she was forced into slavery at the age of 11 by a boss who beat and starved her.
And Djuma was left on the bitterly cold streets with no shelter when his dad died, forcing him to scavenge for food.
Tearful Tom’s heart was breaking as he imagined his three young children having to endure such horror.
When he tried to explain their plight to big-hearted Buzz, aged four, the tot asked if his dad, 33, could invite the pair over for Christmas dinner.
Tom, whose other kids are Buddy, two, and Max, six months, said: “The conditions these children are living in absolutely broke my heart.
“You can’t help but imagine what your own children would be like in that situation.
“For any parent, seeing a child suffering is an emotional experience.
“I have tried to explain to my boys how these children live and how little they have, to give them an understanding of what goes on in the world.”
The rock star was touched by Buzz’s reaction when told some children don’t even have parents. Tom said: “The first thing he said was, ‘Can we invite them over so they can have Christmas with us?’ It was incredibly sweet.”
Tom travelled with the charity Save the Children to the African country where life for many is still bleak – 24 years after a genocide which claimed 800,000 in just 100 days.
Nearly half the population are under 15 and Save the Children tries educate kids about their and get them back into education. Tom said: “So many of those kids were not far off my own kids’ age. It’s hard to express how little they have.”
Djuma, 15, is now part of the Save the Children group and Odette, now 12, is helping get other kids off the streets.
Cuddly
Mcfly has sold more than ten million records but none of the children he met had heard any of his songs. Yet they welcomed him with open arms.
He said: “A couple of children invited me back to their homes – literally a mound of mud they have built themselves with their brothers and sisters, with no water and no electricity. They recognise anyone wearing a bright red Save the Children T-shirt and give you an amazing welcome. Save the Children do so much.”
Tom and his Youtube star wife Giovanna, also 33, are all set for a proper family Christmas knees-up.
Tom, author of bestselling kids’ book The Christmasaurus, will cook dinner for 14 members of his family.
To coincide with Save the Children’s annual Christmas Jumper Day on December 14, Tom has released a special cuddly toy Christmasaurus in a bid to raise £50,000 for the charity.
He said: “Our family is expanding rapidly so there are a lot more kids in the house now.
“I do a traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. But going to Africa changes your life. It has such a lasting impact on you.
“This Christmas, one of the things I’m so proud of is that we’re able to use the Christmasaurus cuddly toy to help kids in places like Rwanda.”
£3 from each sale of a Christmasaurus toy, available at Whsmith stores and online, goes to Save the Children. Sign up to Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day at Christmasjumperday.org and give £2.