PUPILS from Holy Cross School were able to hear first-hand the plight of refugees fleeing their country from war as they visited the Harbour Project today.

The handful of Year 5 children made the trip after raising £300 for the Broad Street charity through a crazy hat day recently where they were able to make or decorate a hat.

Nan Bains, project manager at the Harbour Project said the first-time visit to their base was one way in which the charity spreads its message in the town.

She added: “It is important for the children to understand the situation because a lot of the refugees are children. They are the future adults and it is really vital that they understand that people are having to flee their homes and countries to come here for a better life.

“They might have seen things from the news and so it is great that they are able to speak to people in Swindon who have gone through that and are getting support.

“Any contribution we get, no matter how little, goes a long way and it is lovely that the children made the effort to fundraise for us and it is great for their parents to see that they are fundraising for this charity.

“There has been a lot of focus on Calais recently and some of the people we support have come from there but we have people from all over the world here.”

The Harbour Project, which is Swindon’s dedicated charity set up to support refugees and asylum seekers, provides a range of services to meet the needs of visitors.

One user of the service told the children how he endured a 13 hour boat journey from Libya to Italy with 700 other refugees desperate to flee their home country in east Africa.

He said: “Being on the boat was the first time I had travelled on the seas and I was nervous and it was very troubling for people. One woman even gave birth on the boat which was very crowded and at the time, we had no option but to leave.”

The interactive session led by staff at the Harbour Project also asked the children, who are part of the school’s chaplaincy team, what they would take if they had to leave home. Many replied a family photo to remember loved ones.

Holy Cross teacher Carmen Norris said the visit allowed the pupils to see exact where their money was being spent.

She added: “By having someone who can talk to them about their experience is great because it makes it more real and shows them what they’ve had to go through.

“The pupils will take a lot of things away but most importantly the feeling that they can make a different in other people’s lives. It is nice for them to see there are people they can help in their own town.”