GROUPS of "street children" descended on Darlington's Cornmill Shopping Centre yesterday to shine people's shoes for money.
The youngsters were volunteers from the Darlington and Newton Aycliffe YMCA's Millennium Volunteers project.
They took up their brushes to raise money for the street children programmes run in Colombia and India by Y Care International, the development agency of the YMCA.
The Millennium Volunteers will be also be at work fundraising in the shopping centre today.
Outreach worker Joanne Nelson said: "Darlington may seem far away from the harsh social and economic realities of the developing world, but we aim to raise awareness of Y Care International's overseas work.
"Shoe shining is one way of surviving on the streets.
"We also have a Shoe Shine pack, designed to raise awareness of the conditions in which young people are forced to survive on the streets in some of the poverty-stricken regions of the world."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article