BUILDING Society staff are helping to write a new chapter for a man who has devoted 25 years to bringing the joy of reading to children in Africa.

Darlington Rotarian Peter Phillips, 80, works with the charity Just Be A Child to ship books and other educational items to Kenya.

His efforts over a quarter of a century have led to classrooms and libraries being built, as well as desks being made by a local carpenter for the village school in Msembweni.

In the past year alone, Mister Peter – as he is known by the children in Kenya – has delivered 20,000 books with the support of fellow Darlington Rotarians.

After hearing about his exploits, colleagues at Darlington Building Society have collected a wonderful pile of children’s books to go towards the next shipment later this year.

The collection was organised by Trish Brown, executive personal assistant to the Society’s chief executive, Andrew Craddock.

Trish said: “My grandchildren have a lot of books that needed clearing out, and then I heard about Peter’s incredible efforts to transport books to children in Africa.

“We decided to do a collection among colleagues, and they really rallied round, emptying their cupboards and attics.

“Peter has done such an amazing job over 25 years to increase the educational opportunities for young people in poor parts of Africa, so it’s something I’m sure we will go on supporting at Darlington Building Society.”

Peter said: “The support I’ve had from so many people has been overwhelming, and to have the backing of a trusted community-focused organisation like Darlington Building Society is fantastic.”