DANCE companies in the district are limbering up to help orphaned children in Nepal.
The Leamington and Warwick Academy of Dance and Pointe the Way Ballet School in Warwick, are lifting the curtain on two performances of James and the Giant Peach at Leamington’s Spa Centre next month. Proceeds from the production will be donated to Feed The Hungry UK’s campaign to build an accommodation block for orphaned children at the Innovative Academy.
Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book tells the story of young James Henry Trotter, an orphan who finds friendship, family, and a place to belong in the most unlikely of circumstances.
The Innovative Academy in Nepal educates 440 children aged 5-16 from some of the country’s poorest communities, entirely free of charge. Among its pupils are 37 orphans who have no family or home of their own, and who currently live on the school site.
The Nepalese authorities have ordered the school to provide dedicated accommodation for these children – and have threatened to shut the school entirely if a separate living block is not built. The total cost of construction is £70,000.
Feed The Hungry has already raised £23,000, and ground floor of the building has been completed. The performances of James and the Giant Peach aim to raise vital funds to complete the next phase of the construction work, and ultimately, give these children a safe, permanent place to call home.
The campaign is run in partnership with Pastor Ruben Rasaili of Mission for Tribes and Nations, who oversees the Innovative Academy and its community.
Principal Vivienne Kibble said: “We are so proud of everything these young performers have achieved, and we wanted their hard work to count for something beyond the stage.
“When we learned about the children at the Innovative Academy — 37 orphans in exactly the same position as James himself — it felt like the perfect fit. We hope audiences will come along, be wowed by our incredible dancers, and help us do something truly meaningful.”
James and the Giant Peach is on July 4 and 5 at 1.30pm and 6.30pm both days. Visit warwickdc.ticketsolve.com for tickets and feedthehungry.org.uk for more information about the work of Feed The Hungry UK.
