MORE than 1,000 books have started the long journey from Shoreham to the slums of Chandigarh, India, thanks to the generosity of pupils at King's Manor Community College.
Youngsters at the school donated their own books and placed them in a suitcase as part of The Children's Suitcase Library.
Once full, the suitcases were collected and shipped out to schools and orphanages in India.
David Rose, the creator of the project, said: "I am overwhelmed by the humanity and kindness that everyone at King's Manor has displayed.
"Words cannot describe how much of an impact these books will have on literally thousands of young people's lives.
"Learning written and spoken English is felt by many of these youngsters as the only way out of the slums.
"These books will go some way to helping break the appalling cycle of poverty that these children unfairly live in."
UnbelievableAssistant head teacher Dave Oakes, who co-ordinated the project, said: "At first, we were thinking we could collect in the region of 100 books, but the students kept bringing in more and more.
"It was unbelievable."
Special thanks were also given to Rachel Johnson, the school's librarian, who gave a collection of books from the school library.
Mr Oakes said "It is sometimes all too easy to simply give money to charities, but this really shows that our students have both understood and embraced the concepts of giving and contributing."
Kindness Because so many books were donated, Adel Reichardt, from the project, had already made a trip to Mtwapa, in the Mombasa district of Kenya, earlier this year with four full suitcases.
She brought back photos of the local children and letters thanking the King's Manor pupils for their kindness.
Head teacher Heidi Brown said: "This is clearly something that has won over the hearts and minds of our students.
"Now this wonderful relationship has been established, we hope to repeat the project on an annual basis."
Excited Tegan Rose, currently in year 10, is travelling to India for the first time with her father this summer.
She said: "I'm really looking forward to seeing the children with their books.
"They will mean the world to them."
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