Historic hotel hosts high tea event to raise funds for African charity

The art-deco Midland Hotel in Morecambe is to play host to a charity high tea event organised by an aid worker to help young people in Africa.

The fundraising event is for The Noah Initiative (UK), which is helping to build a better future for young men in Kenya and raise awareness for the country’s ‘forgotten youth’.

The charity, the brainchild of 28-year-old Elliot Berry, works with fatherless children and young men in the slums of Kambi Teso in Eldoret in western Kenya.

The hotel, which is managed by English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues, is putting on the high tea on Friday 9 March 2018, with participants given the chance to browse a Kenyan market from 1:00pm onwards, talk to the founder of The Noah Initiative and enjoy a traditional afternoon tea.  The Kenyan market will feature a range of goods, including African crafts, bowls, jewellery, art, souvenirs, clothing, Noah Initiative CDs and t-shirts.

Inspired by his experience of working in Africa as a counsellor and ‘house parent’ in Eldoret, Mr Berry set up The Noah Initiative charity to work with local schools and guardians to secure a better education for fatherless, abused or neglected boys.

“Following the charity’s successful launch, we now have over 60 boys in the programme, with ages ranging from first year of secondary school to finishing college,” explains Elliot.  “We’ve also been able to rescue four children from human traffickers, bringing them back from Tanzania to be reunited with family members.

“We want to build on this progress and we can only do this with greater public awareness and charitable support.  So we’re grateful to the Midland Hotel for putting this event on to help spread the word and get more people involved in the charity.”

Since being established in 2015, The Noah Initiative (UK) now has bases in all 4 slums within Eldoret, Kenya's fifth largest city.  The charity has also been able to acquire a piece of land which will be used for agricultural and sustainability initiatives.  It has over 40 parents, mostly single mothers, currently enrolled in its mentorship and empowerment programmes.

Mark Needham from English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues, the general manager of The Midland adds:  “Elliot’s achievements since the launch of the charity three years ago are inspiring, so the team at the Midland and our other venues are right behind him.

“The Noah Initiative is a self-financing charity and has achieved rapid success in three years, so we were keen to get involved and support a cause which is having such a positive and transformational effect for people in Eldoret.  This fundraising event will allow visitors to find out more and hopefully lend a hand.”

Tickets for The Noah Initiative fundraising high tea event are £17.50 per person and can be booked by contacting Diana Berry on 07967 054 990 or direct with The Midland on 01524 428 371 or emailing events.midland@englishlakes.co.uk 

Elliot Berry moved to Kenya in 2011 and continues his work ‘in the field’, with core activity focusing on Eldoret, particularly the slum areas where there are high levels of deprivation.  He is also now on the board of the International Vision Centre Church in Eldoret, which has over 2,000 members.

For further information about English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues visit: englishlakes.co.uk