Lydia Bright breaks down in tears as she meets Ugandan family her daughter Loretta, five, sponsored after donating her birthday money
The star has travelled to Uganda to see where Joy For Humanity charity donatations have been utilised on the ground.
Lydia shared a video of herself meeting up with a little girl named Rahufa and her family as she explained how her daughter Loretta, five, had chosen to forgo birthday gifts from her friends in favour of donations for the charity.
Loretta subsequently became the charity's youngest sponsor for a child - her 'sister' Rahufa.
Lydia couldn't contatin her emotions as she finally met the little girl, her three siblings and her mother at their home this week, sharing video and photos of little Rahufa in her school uniform.
'Like so many children in the UK, Loretta has too much. Too many toys, too many clothes, too many books.'
'After planning a birthday party for her school friends back in February, I found myself dreading the 40+ presents she'd receive (a very privileged problem to have, I know.)' Lydia explained to her followers.
'A few years ago through my mums fostering connection she began supporting children in Uganda through uniform donations.'
'That's when I learnt more about Uganda, how it still remains one of the poorest countries in the world and the heartbreaking fact that 1 in 8 children in the the Lwengo District won't live to celebrate their 5th birthday. It felt like the perfect time for a change.'
'This year, my Loretta became the youngest sponsor. Instead of gifts, we asked her friends to donate to sponsor a child's education.'
'Loretta will eventually outgrow or misplace toys, but through her annual birthday sponsorship she'll be putting a child, her sister in Uganda, Rahufah through school and I dream of the day they'll one day meet in person.'
I know as she grows this will teach Loretta the importance of giving back and I know how impactful this will be on her throughout her years. Her birthday raised over £500, enough to fully sponsor a child (it costs just £300 a year to send a child to Kyazanga Modern Primary School) and provide much needed school supplies and resources for many others.'
Lydia's posts were met with an outpouring of love and support from her family and friends, including her mum Debbie and TOWIE pal Chloe Lewis.
Some followers criticised the post though, with one commenting of Loretta: 'Im sure she is just thrilled to be the only kid in class that noone gives any presents to foe her birthday. Won't make her grow up to be even more [sic]'
But a defiant Lydia pointed out: 'She received presents from her family and I don't believe any child needs over 40 gifts. My child, my parenting choice.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
9 hours ago
- Metro
Emmerdale legend addresses Charity and Vanessa reunion chances
Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) and Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb)'s marriage comes under massive strain in upcoming Emmerdale episodes – but could that ultimately pave the way for a rekindling of a previous romance for Charity as Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) steps up to support her? Emma Atkins speculated on the possibility when she recently spoke to us about Charity's current storyline, which sees her offering to act as a surrogate for her granddaughter Sarah (Katie Hill). Emma said that Charity takes the decision without consulting Mackenzie as Sarah is her only concern. 'Once she's set a decision in place she doesn't really back out of stuff. She commits. She goes full pelt without thinking of any of the consequences. So for her, I think there's a lot of pride there, and there's a lot of loyalty and protection towards her granddaughter. So I think she's not willing to allow anything to get in the way of this.' Of course this is a hugely emotional issue for Charity and Mack as a couple, after they suffered tragedy with an ectopic pregnancy and Charity made the decision she didn't want any more children. Mackenzie is concerned and worried that she's prepared to go through a pregnancy for Sarah and has gone ahead without discussing it with him. 'There's a lot of emotional scarring and wounds there for them both that they probably have pushed under a carpet and they're not really discussing because Charity made the decision that she didn't want to have another baby, and so I think that will create a lot of tension and resentment, and we'll probably see that play out in the not too distant future,' Emma reflected. Mackenzie issues an ultimatum, that if Charity goes ahead with the surrogacy their marriage is over. As the marriage hits the rockiest patch it's been in for some time, we've also seen Vanessa recently supporting Sarah when she first began to consider IVF. Could Vanessa and Charity soon be getting closer again? The two were previously a fan-favourite couple. 'A lot of people took to that and it resonated. The fact it was two women, it made a brilliant impact for a lot of people,' Emma Atkins said previously. She speculated about whether a reunion could be on the cards in 2025. 'I think when they do have scenes together, there's always that potential for an opening again, of reconnection, because they get on so well as friends,' she said. 'There's always that spark and you never know in soap properly what they choose to do from one moment to the next, and it's always a joy to work with Michelle. So either way, it's going to be a win-win. Even if they just have a lovely friendship, because there is a friendship there to be had.' More Trending Regarding Charity and Mack's marriage, Emma said she would like to think it could stand the pressures of the current situation. Want to be the first to hear shocking EastEnders spoilers? Who's leaving Coronation Street? The latest gossip from Emmerdale? Join 10,000 soaps fans on Metro's WhatsApp Soaps community and get access to spoiler galleries, must-watch videos, and exclusive interviews. Simply click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! Don't forget to turn on notifications so you can see when we've just dropped the latest spoilers! 'But then sometimes you go, something's got to give here. Like, how much more can they actually take? And the fact that Charity is so for [the surrogacy] and Mack clearly isn't like he's just worried for so many obvious reasons…' So there's a spark of hope for Vanity fans who have always maintained that Charity and Vanessa are meant to be together? Emma hinted that there could be reasons for optimism. View More » 'I just don't know at this moment in time what they'll do with a pair of them, but I can definitely see an opening happening already, because there's been dialogue between them – but of what nature, I don't know.' MORE: Victoria is left in complete and utter shock in Emmerdale as Charity makes a big request MORE: Emmerdale legend warns that plan will 'end in tears' – but a shock follows MORE: All Emmerdale spoilers for next week as life-changing scenes are confirmed
The Guardian
11 hours ago
- The Guardian
Human review – history at its most irresistibly infectious
'I can't help it,' says Ella Al-Shamahi. 'It reminds me of The Lord of the Rings!' It's not easy to make prehistory accessible, but a Tolkien comparison works for the time before Homo sapiens ruled the world. Al-Shamahi's five-part documentary traces the rise of humanity, beginning with the era when Homo neanderthalensis, Homo floresiensis and Homo erectus each staked a claim in their own ragged domain. Before written history, when our story was 'written in our bones and DNA', some early humans were in Europe and Asia and had adapted to the cold. Some were learning to harness the power of fire. Some were only about 3ft 6in (1 metre) tall. Others wore hard hats and polo shirts – wait, no, that is one of the archaeologists on a dig in Morocco, where a skull named Jebel Irhoud 1 holds many secrets about our early ancestors. It's the start of a journey that will, in an illuminating first episode, take Al-Shamahi to spectacular locations across Africa and the Middle East. At the risk of repeating what some critics said seven years ago when Al-Shamahi fronted Neanderthals – Meet Your Ancestors on BBC Two (she has popped up in the odd thing since then), it feels as if a presenting star is being born here. An explorer, paleoanthropologist and standup comedian, she passes all the tests that the job of helming a major science or history series throws up. Her bits to camera borrow the old Kevin McCloud trick of pretending to come up with big thoughts on the fly and being delighted by them: she will break eye contact, look away to gather something fascinating, then meet our gaze again to emphasise the key point. It's theatre, but it helps to achieve her main goal, which is to transmit the wonder she experiences as a learned expert to us, the keen but ignorant at home. The urgent whisper she employs in her voiceover – where a less adept presenter would reveal any weaknesses in their intonation – has the same effect. So we are in the company of the best teacher most of us never had, one who joyfully shares knowledge that is too interesting to be intimidating and who trusts us to keep up. Al-Shamahi is unafraid to toss in arcane paleoanthropological terms if the viewer can draw meaning from context – 'gracile' and 'prognathic' are about to slide into your vocabulary – or to converse with Moroccan scientists in Arabic. Her best work here has her cradling the Jebel Irhoud skull and using her own head to illustrate how this ancient creature is different from us, yet almost the same. Someone like Homo sapiens, the upright, tool-and-weapon-using primate that became us, existed as far back as 350,000 years ago, much earlier than was once thought. From there we trace the little breakthroughs that, put together across many millennia, constitute our evolution. Al-Shamahi visits the Great Rift valley in eastern Africa to explain how, 200,000 years ago, climate crises (it was humid in the east and arid in the west, then vice versa) forced communities to move around and mingle, sharing fresh discoveries and their best genes. In Israel, however, we find evidence of one of countless false starts, when Homo sapiens tried to live in the cave next door to neanderthals – a nightmare-neighbour scenario so bad that this branch of Homo sapiens didn't survive it. But we persevered. Al-Shamahi highlights the surprising details of how we gained hegemony. In the Tsodilo Hills of Botswana, there are stone tools that, 100,000 years ago, their owners broke. Why? Because they were offerings to a god, made by primates who were starting to 'see beyond the tangible' and were developing ceremonies and rituals nourished by abstract thought. In the words of Al-Shamahi, who can turn a lyrical phrase when it's warranted, we were 'venturing into the unknown and into the unseen'. This expansion of the brain delivered practical benefits when, only 30 or so millennia later, curiosity about 'the power held in wood and string' saw us move on from axes and spears to the bow and arrow. The programme's landscape shots are frequently stunning. On a perfectly unspoiled, dune-flanked African beach, even the tiniest seashells hold a narrative: about 70,000 years ago we started turning them into necklaces decorated with red ochre, a sign that cultural exchanges were under way. Al-Shamahi's delight in this revelation is irresistibly infectious. In Human, the leap of imagination necessary to understand our very distant past is no distance at all. Human airs on BBC Two and is available on BBC iPlayer
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Lydia Bright breaks down in tears as she meets Ugandan family her daughter Loretta, five, sponsored after donating her birthday money
TOWIE star Lydia Bright has shared video of the emotional moment she met a Ugandan family she has been sponsoring. The star has travelled to Uganda to see where Joy For Humanity charity donatations have been utilised on the ground. Lydia shared a video of herself meeting up with a little girl named Rahufa and her family as she explained how her daughter Loretta, five, had chosen to forgo birthday gifts from her friends in favour of donations for the charity. Loretta subsequently became the charity's youngest sponsor for a child - her 'sister' Rahufa. Lydia couldn't contatin her emotions as she finally met the little girl, her three siblings and her mother at their home this week, sharing video and photos of little Rahufa in her school uniform. 'Like so many children in the UK, Loretta has too much. Too many toys, too many clothes, too many books.' 'After planning a birthday party for her school friends back in February, I found myself dreading the 40+ presents she'd receive (a very privileged problem to have, I know.)' Lydia explained to her followers. 'A few years ago through my mums fostering connection she began supporting children in Uganda through uniform donations.' 'That's when I learnt more about Uganda, how it still remains one of the poorest countries in the world and the heartbreaking fact that 1 in 8 children in the the Lwengo District won't live to celebrate their 5th birthday. It felt like the perfect time for a change.' 'This year, my Loretta became the youngest sponsor. Instead of gifts, we asked her friends to donate to sponsor a child's education.' 'Loretta will eventually outgrow or misplace toys, but through her annual birthday sponsorship she'll be putting a child, her sister in Uganda, Rahufah through school and I dream of the day they'll one day meet in person.' I know as she grows this will teach Loretta the importance of giving back and I know how impactful this will be on her throughout her years. Her birthday raised over £500, enough to fully sponsor a child (it costs just £300 a year to send a child to Kyazanga Modern Primary School) and provide much needed school supplies and resources for many others.' Lydia's posts were met with an outpouring of love and support from her family and friends, including her mum Debbie and TOWIE pal Chloe Lewis. Some followers criticised the post though, with one commenting of Loretta: 'Im sure she is just thrilled to be the only kid in class that noone gives any presents to foe her birthday. Won't make her grow up to be even more [sic]' But a defiant Lydia pointed out: 'She received presents from her family and I don't believe any child needs over 40 gifts. My child, my parenting choice.'
