A TALENTED young designer from Suffolk has held a fashion show to raise money for orphans in South Africa.The event was the brainchild of Fenella Osborne, a pupil at Woodbridge School, who led the school's charity committee and helpers in organising the show.

By Richard Smith

A TALENTED young designer from Suffolk has held a fashion show to raise money for orphans in South Africa.

The event was the brainchild of Fenella Osborne, a pupil at Woodbridge School, who led the school's charity committee and helpers in organising the show.

It raised £1,312.62 for the Lula Care Centre which looks after children whose parents have died from Aids.

Fenella designed 25 of the outfits using materials she sourced in Africa, mainly at the famous open air Green Market in Cape Town where people from all over the country gather to sell their products.

She took all of her summer holidays to make the clothes and after the show, put on with the help of Fanny and Frank's shop in Woodbridge, many of the outfits were snapped up.

Fenella said: “When I arrived in Africa I found out that the exchange school, Uplands School, has the same commitment to community service that we have here at Woodbridge School. My exchange partner, Fawzia, visits the orphanage regularly.

'”I decided that I really wanted to do something for the babies and very young children. Quite often their lives are extremely brief, few of them born with Aids survive to reach their teenage years.”

She added: “When the night was over I realised that the experience was so brilliant and fulfilling that any hiccups I had met along the way were totally immaterial. It was just the greatest experience.”

Pupils from Woodbridge School, including the head girl Lucy Harvard, had met some of the orphans when visiting South Africa last year as part of the school's international exchange programme.