A member of the Bolton branch of the National Education Union (NEU) has helped raise £100k to help school children in Cuba struggling with basic supplies.

Julia Simpkins says they have been raising this money through various initiatives throughout the year.

The main inspiration came around after Julia and the union realised how much children were struggling with school supplies following previous visits.

She said: “During Covid Cuba has not had any tourism so their gross domestic product really plummeted and the situation in Cuba is really difficult at the moment.

“For years now the children in Cuba have been taught to write two lines of writing on each line, on a piece of paper, so they use less paper.”

After visiting Cuba just over a year ago, Julia says that the only paper they had to use in schools was on the back of things.

Julia added: “My union sends a delegation with around 20-plus people from around the country to Cuba every year in October, and we have learned so much from the people of Cuba, so this is a thank you to them.

“When I stayed with a family in Cuba about a year ago, every evening the men were working on cars, and that’s what they spent their evenings doing to keep things going.”

The money means that paper and pens and all the basic equipment expected in a school will be sent to support schools across the island equally.

The inspiration came about a few years ago during a collaboration between the Cuba Solidarity Campaign and the NEU where a wide range of musical instruments were donated from all over the country for the school children in Cuba.

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