FEW customers buying their weekly shopping in Somerfield, Marlborough, are aware that manager Rob Parnell and his staff pay for the education of 35 children in West Africa.

For the past three years, the manager and his 25 staff have raised thousands of pounds to pay for the schooling of 35 children in Gunjur in The Gambia. Marlborough has been linked with the region for 20 years through the Brandt Group.

Many of the children are orphans and some come from single parent families who cannot afford to pay for their schooling. The latest pupil to receive help from the Marlborough team is a little girl born with deformed feet and hands.

Mr Parnell said his interest in the young people of Gunjur was initially sparked by a talk given by Brandt Group member Pauline Taylor to raise money for a crche in the African village.

Further information about the plight of children in the African community was given to the store staff by Massey Touray, 25, who comes from The Gambia and is working part-time in Somerfield while on a business studies and management course at the University of the West of England.

Mr Parnell said: "Talking to Pauline and to Massey it became obvious that it was not just a crche which needed funding in Gunjur. I spoke to some of the staff and told them that the children in The Gambia had to pay for their education and we all decided to do something about it."

Apart from Massey, who goes home to Gunjur once a year and brings back reports from the schools, none of the Somerfield staff has visited The Gambia.

Mr Parnell said that currently the shop is paying for the education of 35 under- fives at the Gunjur pre-school but will continue to pay for nine of them when they go up to primary school.

"We pay their yearly school fees, pay for their uniforms, their school bags and their shoes.

"For as little as £20 you can put a child through school in The Gambia for a year.

"Massey goes over every year and she tells the children how hard we work over here for them to encourage them to work hard at school."

Staff are kept in touch

THE staff at Somerfield in Marlborough get twice yearly reports and photographs of the children they support from Saikou Bojang, a hotel worker in Gunjur who administers the money they send out.

The latest package of pictures and a progress report from Saikou Bojang included a large number of drawings by the children especially for the Somerfield workers.

Mr Parnell said: "I am trying to get some of my staff who have young children to do some drawings for us to send back to the children in Gunjur."

The store workers run regular fundraising events throughout the year.

These have taken various forms, including one event when the managers were sponsored to have their legs waxed.

Regular cake stalls are run by the staff outside the shop and they invite customers to help by contributing cakes or homemade sweets.

The next stalls will be held on two Saturdays, May 11 and June 8, and the organiser, mother-of-two Tina Lanfear, said she would welcome any contributions.

Mr Parnell said the shop staff have to raise about £1,000 a year to maintain the education of the children they sponsor.

He said : "They work incredibly hard at it and every single penny we raise goes to these kids, there are no overheads whatsoever."