Two school boys from Hagley have topped this week’s Charity Champion leaderboard after raising a combined £6,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity.

Seven-year-olds, Raushan and Joshua, both pupils at Hagley Primary School, took part in the charity’s annual abseil last week to raise vital funds for the children’s hospital. 

The pair were inspired to fundraise in honour of their friend at school who was diagnosed last year with a rare condition called Familial Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis caused by an overactive immune system. He is waiting to start chemotherapy and receive a stem cell transplant.

Raushan’s dad, Dr Rajpal Nandra, who works as an orthopaedic surgeon at the children’s hospital, said: “We are all so proud of Raushan and Joshua for completing the abseil challenge. We went to India recently and we saw so many sick children, Raushan was inspired to do something to help them and when we got home, he decided to fundraise for the children’s hospital in honour of their school friend.

“The boys were certainly very nervous ahead of the abseil, but they were determined to get the job done for their friend. They did a fantastic job!”

Serena Daw, Public Fundraising Manager at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “Raushan and Joshua are two inspiring kids and we are incredibly proud to have them as young fundraisers. Fort Dunlop is an iconic building in our region and our annual abseil is always a popular one. Being able to say they’ve abseiled 100ft down it, while raising £6,000 for us, is nothing short of amazing, and definitely one to show-off to all their school friends about!

“They have donated the money towards neurodegenerative disease research, which will go on to make a huge difference to our sick kids.”                                                                          

Raushan and Joshua plan to do more fundraising during the year, starting with an event being held at their school on  Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 May, where there will be a stem cell donor drive to try and find a match for their friend.

If you’d like to follow in Raushan and Joshua’s footsteps and take on an event in 2019, visit our events section or call 0121 333 8506.