MUSICAL youngsters have raised £450 to help fellow pupils on the other side of the world.

MUSICAL youngsters have raised £450 to help fellow pupils on the other side of the world.

Students at St Mark's Primary School in St Mark's Road, Worle, collected the cash during their Christmas concerts.

The money will go towards Worle resident Janet Brown's Rwanda charity.

The volunteer, who lives in Cornwallis Avenue, often flies out to stay with her friend Edith Mukamazimpaka in Honika in the south of the country.

While there, she and other volunteers help to work towards providing better living condition for orphans in the country.

On her most recent trip Janet and her team started work on establishing a training centre there.

Janet first travelled to Rwanda when she was 21. She met Edith and went on to volunteer as a teacher for two years at a boarding school before becoming the head at a girls' domestic science school.

Since the 1994 genocide, Janet and husband David, have been sending money to help Edith and the orphans she takes in.

Janet said: "I am planning to use the money for mattresses for a school in Hanika.

"There are only a few secondary schools in Rwanda and most are boarding schools.

"At the Hanika school, students have to be two to a bed as they don't have enough money for mattresses. So this gift will be very useful.