MORE than 30 Tendring women are busy knitting to help desperately poor children in Africa.

Inspired by a Gazette story about the retirement of the Walton WI knitters, a new set of women has offered to knit clothes and blankets for children in the African state of Benin.

Thorpe-based charity Benin Christian Support is planning a fresh trip to its orphanage, the House of Hope, in November and is raising money to pay an African carpenter to build more bunk beds for the children.

The charity also needs items it can sell at car boot sales, along with clothing, school items, first aid kits and medicines, clean water kits, maize, hygiene kits, grass floor mats and mosquito nets to send to Africa.

The charity’s Desperate Needs fund recently helped three-year-old Benin boy Gedeon when he had cholera.

He was rushed to hospital and his life saved by treatment and medicines paid for by the charity.

Benin Christian Support treasurer Maureen Sanders said: “We’re so grateful to everyone who supports our work.

“None of it would happen without the people of Tendring, who support our sales and make donations.”

To support the charity, call 01255 862618.