A CHARITY which gives desperately poor children in Kenya the chance to go to school is celebrating its tenth anniversary.

Burley-in-Wharfedale based BASIK (Build A School in Kenya) has made education possible for hundreds of youngsters by raising £57,000 over the past decade.

Its first school, Kilimani Primary, near Mombasa, cost just £26,000 to create from scratch. The facility now educates 160 children from the local area, with nearly half of pupils being girls.

Chris Normington, CEO at BASIK said: "We’re delighted with the completion of Kilimani Primary and are thankful to all those who have helped us along the way. Young girls aren’t always encouraged to go to school in rural areas, so we’re particularly proud that we have almost an equal split at our school. We do hope that this might be a sign of things to come in more of the communities with which we’re working."

The charity is now working with a local community group In Tsavo, Kenya to build classrooms at a secondary school and to pay for mosquito nets and fees for pupils who would not otherwise be able to attend.

The first 'BASIK' students are now at university and the charity will continue to sponsor them until their studies are complete.

Fundraising efforts are continuing and a flag day in Ilkley in July raised £414.

BASIK CEO Chris Normington said the family-run charity was set up to show what could be done by sending donations directly to the people who need them, with every penny raised going to Kenya.

He added: "Our first school may be finished, and our second school almost completed but the hard work doesn’t stop there. We’ve taken on the responsibility of ensuring that all the children that we help can continue in education until the completion of their studies. Also we know that there are still hundreds more children in these desperately poor areas waiting for our help.

"We’re incredibly proud and confident that all our aid goes directly to the people who need it. Unfortunately, donating through other channels sometimes can mean that not all of the money goes to who it’s intended for and we don’t think that’s right.

"A big thank you to the people of Ilkley who donated so generously this weekend, the success of our charity is all down to the support of the public."

Visit www.basik.org.uk for further details.