Kenilworth schoolgirl to step into shoes of child refugees

An eight-year-old Kenilworth schoolgirl will be stepping into the shoes of a child refugee in order to raise money for charity.
Charlotte Dubber, 8, with her 'Save the Refugees' bannerCharlotte Dubber, 8, with her 'Save the Refugees' banner
Charlotte Dubber, 8, with her 'Save the Refugees' banner

Charlotte Dubber, who attends Park Hill Junior School, will be camping out in her garden over the course of Sunday November 6 without toys, electronic items or any other luxuries to keep her occupied.

Her parents, John and Claire, will deliver her basic ‘food parcels’ three times in the day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

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In doing so Charlotte hopes to raise money for charity Save the Children, who work directly with children fleeing conflict from around the world.

John and Claire initially thought Charlotte just had a mild interest in the issue.

But they soon realised she was serious about helping refugees when she set up a Just Giving page, which allows people to sponsor her online, of her own accord.

John said: “This has all come entirely from her. She got very interested in the plight of refugees over the last few weeks and she thinks something ought to be done about it.

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“She thinks she has a very lucky and happy existence, and now she’s pretty determined to experience what it might be like to be a child refugee.

“What started off as a bit of a game started to become a little more serious when she set up her Just Giving page.

“I think we’ll try and make it realistic for her - there’ll be no toys or games for her to play with.”

A keen viewer of the children’s news programme Newsround, Charlotte wanted to do something to help the refugees as their plight has recently been featured on its bulletins.

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She compared her comfortable life in Kenilworth to what she saw and felt she had to act.

And dad John encouraged her to research the topic in more detail before the big day.

He said: “If you’re going to do things like this you need to find out the facts. She’s now done quite a lot of research during half-term.”

Charlotte has also written to Kenilworth and Southam MP Jeremy Wright asking him to raise the issue with Prime Minister Theresa May after reading his post on his website about the situation in Syria, which was published in September 2015.

A spokesman for Jeremy Wright confirmed he will respond directly to Charlotte’s letter.

Anyone wishing to sponsor Charlotte should visit her Just Giving page here

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