FORTY bags filled with school clothing, books and sports kits are ready to be shipped to a Kenyan school.

Paul Moffat, from Carlisle, and his wife Eunice, opened the Future of Taru Academy, which offers primary and secondary schooling to provide quality education, food, and support to those living in the poorly equipped town of Taru, north of Mombasa.

At the beginning of the year, pupil numbers had increased to more than 450 from the initial 20 in 2017.

While the items, which make up 400 kilos, are ready to be shipped by the charity to Taru, the school is facing the obstacle of raising enough funds to cover the shipping costs.

Future of Taru has sent similar shipments in the past which have included plenty of Carlisle United kits, using sea freight as the most affordable option.

However, the cost to ship this latest delivery is expected to be around £1,000.

"We have many amazing donors, who continuously support us with donations of school clothing, footwear, sports kits, reading books, soft toys, and many other items that are invaluable to us at our schools in Taru, Kenya.

"We've had a full set of strips from one donor in Carlisle, six bags of reading books from Carlisle's Blackford School.

"We ask for your help with whatever donation you can offer us.

"Thank you all so much for your support."

Paul has previously spoken about how, if it wasn't for generous locals sponsoring the children, around 60 per cent of those attending school wouldn't be there.

To help with the ongoing fundraiser, you can visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/shipment#start 

The Future of Taru is always looking for donations and sponsors.

You can sponsor a child to help them get an education and be fed twice a day for only £12.50 a month.

To find out more, visit www.futureoftaru.org