A TEAM of authors and illustrators from a Wrexham-based publishing alliance have thrown their weight behind a project to support school children in Uganda.

More than 20 writers associated with Team Author UK (TAUK) – a one-stop publishing service run by editor and entrepreneur Sue Miller from Wrexham – have provided funding to help with the purchase of new class desks.

It’s anticipated that further funding will be provided to the project Infancia Uganda by authors and illustrators from TAUK later this year to help kit out a second classroom with essential resources.

The fundraising initiative was led by Team Author’s creative director Jude Lennon, who heard about the campaign through the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi).

ALLi had run a feature on its website about one of their members Martin Brown, author and one of the three co-founders of Infancia Uganda, which supports several schools in the Kampala region of Uganda.

Within days of highlighting the project to fellow authors, Jude, a professional storyteller and writer of several Amazon best-selling books, had rallied enough support from writers across the north-west to help purchase more than 20 individual desks.

The former primary teacher said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been involved with this project to support schoolchildren in Uganda. It just shows what can be achieved when you pull together and work as a team.

“Within days we had achieved enough support to provide desks – a fundamental learning resource – for an entire class which is just incredible.

“We now have several other members of Team Author UK who have expressed an interest in being involved in the initiative and we are confident we can rally enough support to fund desks for a second classroom.”

Editor Sue Miller, who founded the Team Author publishing alliance in 2016 following increased demand for self-publishing services, added: “The rapid response from our authors and illustrators to this project has been heartwarming and demonstrates the true team spirit behind Team Author UK.

“Jude has done a fantastic job coordinating all the funding and I know individual authors have been delighted to see pictures of the children sitting at their new desks.”

Martin said: “We are truly humbled by the support the project has received from Team Author UK. Public schools in Uganda struggle to function and they lack the most basic of resources. Each desk provides space for three children to sit and learn so that’s 60 pupils alone who have benefited from the funding provided by TAUK.”

For more information about Team Author UK visit www.teamauthoruk.co.uk.