From Poppy Seeds to Playtime Joy: Evie Has a Big Heart
🌺 From Poppy Seeds to Playtime Joy! 🌺
Sometimes, the biggest hearts come in the smallest people. This post is for Evie – a wonderful pupil at Emmanuel School in Walsall and the daughter of my colleague Donna Cuthbert. Evie has quietly and consistently shown what kindness, generosity and global citizenship really look like.
🌱 The Poppy Seed Fundraiser
You may remember that Evie previously supported BFiG Busumbala Nursery School by collecting and selling packets of poppy seeds. Not only that, she also donated £10 of her own pocket money to help the children in The Gambia.
That alone would have been amazing.
But Evie wasn’t finished.
✈️ A Final Surprise Before Take-Off
Just before I flew out to The Gambia in January, Evie handed me another £30 of her own pocket money with a very specific instruction:
“Can you buy some play equipment for the children?”
And that’s exactly what I did.
⚽ Pure Joy in Busumbala
The videos show the moment the new equipment arrived at school… and the reaction was priceless!
The children were SO excited that Lamin Barrow – our brilliant School Manager – had to step in and calm everyone down 🤣🤣🤣
Balls were kicked. Balls were thrown. There was running, laughing and absolute delight for a good twenty minutes.
Then, once the excitement had settled, teacher Mariama Jaiteh gathered the children and began a structured bat-and-ball lesson, turning Evie’s generosity into not just fun – but learning too.
🌍 A Real Difference
This is what Building Futures in The Gambia is all about.
It’s about connection.
It’s about children supporting children.
It’s about compassion crossing continents.
Evie, your kindness is making a real and tangible difference to the children of Busumbala.
From selling poppy seeds…
To giving your own pocket money…
To creating laughter and learning thousands of miles away…
You should be incredibly proud. ❤️
And so should we.
School Manager Lamin Barrow would like to say something.
