For the second year running our Rotary shoeboxes not only carried toys, games, writing materials and toiletries to disadvantaged youngsters and elderly people in central and eastern Europe; they also gave a massive boost to the funds needed by a women’s hospital in Uganda.

1044 special shoeboxes, supplied by Rotary in Harpenden, were filled by pupils from 13 local primary schools, a Scout group and several grown-ups, to be delivered in time for Christmas.

Those participating regularly meet the cost of the boxes with a generosity that creates a surplus, which this year they unanimously agreed should be donated to a US$30,000 project to improve facilities at Kyengera Women’s Hospital in Wakiso near Kampala in Uganda.

The surplus amounted to £973 which, with contributions from two local charities, brought the amount up to some $5,000. This money was then given a massive 780% boost by Rotary’s own international charity, The Rotary Foundation, making the donation worth $39,000 on the ground in Uganda.

‘What an amazing result,’ said Rotary in Harpenden President Claire Wright. ‘This year we have also achieved a notable total of 20,149 shoeboxes delivered in the 22 years we, working with local schools, have been involved with the nationwide Rotary Shoebox scheme.’

Photo: Pupils from High Beeches Primary School with some of the 153 Rotary Shoeboxes they filled.