The contrast between the girl’s pristine school uniform and the pitiful conditions of her home is stark.

She’s a lucky one. Her secondary school education is totally free, thanks to Empowering Kids in Kenya, one of the five charities which shared the £30,000 raised by Rotary in Harpenden’s classic car show, Classics on the Common, in July.

The charity is based in Bombolulu, a slum region of Mombasa in Kenya. Providing early secondary age children with access to education, resources and opportunities gives them hope for their future. The alternative is an unspeakable life as street kids.

Representatives of the charities were guests at a dinner organised by Rotary in Harpenden members to hand them their cheques and to learn more about the charities’ activities.

Hertfordshire Scouts covers 18 Districts split into180 groups, supporting young people in their personal development. With scouting’s big emphasis on adventure and outdoors pursuits, Hertfordshire Scouts offers four activity centres and a centre in Scotland.

Here is a group of Harpenden Scouts in action, being filmed for television when assisting in experiments for National Insect Week.

Keech Hospice Care provides – free – specialist care for adults and children with life-limiting illness. Their care extends beyond the local hospice to include hospital, school, care or family home, wherever support is most needed.

The Rotary Foundation is Rotary’s 100-year-old international charity. Donations are invested for three years and then made available as grants towards humanitarian projects, such as this culvert. Built in a village in The Gambia, it was needed to take away waste water and so reduce the incidence of Malaria.

The fifth charity to benefit from the ‘Classics’ fundraising is Rotary in Harpenden. Supporting projects both local and international is one use for these funds but they also allow us, when disasters like earthquakes or floods occur across the world, to respond swiftly by sending survival kits like ShelterBoxes to the scene. The kit includes a family-size tent, cooking utensils and other life essentials.

As these items are handled by local Rotarians and other trusted agencies we are confident that they are reaching the people who desperately need them.