An eleven-year-old boy is selling his possessions to help raise money for a charity educating children in Nepal. Patrick Crouch has set out his honesty-based stall near their Horfield home at the junction of Bishopthorpe Road and Wellington Hill West.
Proceeds of the sale will go to the Friends of Himalayan Children – a charity with which Patrick’s family has close connections, as it was founded by a close friend of his mum Caitriona.
FHC works in Batase, Nepal – a rural village of around 400 people, located 3,000 metres above sea level – where it built a school, plus a hostel for those who previously walked several hours a day to reach it.
Read more: Joy at Zion Bristol as community invests £230K to save under-threat arts cafe
The charity achieved this aim, but all was lost when an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 hit Nepal in April of 2015. FHC responded by building temporary classrooms and houses, continuing to support vulnerable women and children in Nepal through access to education.
“Without the charity’s help, none of the girls would even go to school,” explained Patrick. “They would have stayed at home and worked while the boys went to school and learned.
“But now the girls are going to school to learn and have fun. It makes them realise that they can do everything the boys can do. Some of the girls from Batase are now Sherpas on Mount Everest.”
On Wednesday Patrick was half way to his target of £50 from the fundraising yard sale. “Everything is in a cupboard, safe from the weather, and people can put the money through our letterbox,” said Patrick. “Raising £50 would buy about four school bags for Batase, or a whole stack of exercise books.”
Whatever the total, it will be added to around £4,000 he has previously raised for FHC by organising school fetes, guess-the-weight contests and tabletop sales.
“Our aim for next year is to fund a teacher for Batase for a whole year,” said Patrick, who also helps out locally with the Manor Farm Community Hub CIC.
Caitriona, who has also fundraised for FHC and even worked with the charity in Nepal, is “very proud” of her son’s dedication to helping others.
“He likes fundraising for FHC because they support young people to be the best they can be,” she said. “He understands that not all people are as lucky as he is, that it is important to look beyond ourselves and make change in our world for the better.”
Patrick hopes to visit Batase himself next year, and would like to undertake a sponsored trek to the base camp of Annapurna, the world’s tenth highest mountain.
Meanwhile, his toy stall remains open outside the family home, with new items – from puzzles and games to books and frisbees – being added daily. There is also a library of free books for exchange, provided by Manor Farm Community Hub.
For more information about FHC, see the charity’s website.
Read next:
The 20 South Bristol areas where homes are being built - or are about to
Developers unveil plans for 555 new homes on edge of Bristol
Police update after militant vegan attacks on ice cream parlour and butchers
Wander through Bristol in the 1950s in incredible forgotten photos
Time warp photos capture Bristol’s high rise homes back in the 1980s
