Poverty moves girl to start a charity (From Oxford Mail)

Poverty moves girl to start a charity

7:00am Wednesday 5th December 2012 in Oxford

A TEENAGER so struck with the poverty she saw when volunteering in Sri Lanka has started her own charity.

Isabel Niner, 16, from Kirtlington, visited Galle in south-west Sri Lanka in July 2010 with Volunteer Sri Lanka.

Now, two years later, she and her mother, Judy Niner, have started the charity Cinnamon Galle.

Her aim is initially to raise £5,000 a year and she is hoping to fund three projects this year.

They are providing nutritious meals for street children, supplying sanitary wear and underwear for teenage girls who cannot afford them, and providing education and sports equipment for schools and orphanages.

Isabel, pictured, a pupil at Headington School, said: “We saw how just a little bit of money can really help them.

“We stayed in a house out there and spent quite a lot of time with kids so it is something I feel very passionate about.”

She has set up a website, cinnamongalle.org.uk, and has already raised several hundred pounds through events held in school.

She said: “Not many people know about us but we are really hoping to get the numbers up soon.”