Seven-year-old Cork girl touches hearts by donating her pocket money to humanitarian aid agency GOAL

Seven-year-old Cork girl touches hearts by donating her pocket money to humanitarian aid agency, GOAL.

An inspirational seven-year-old Co. Cork girl has touched the hearts of staff working for humanitarian aid agency, GOAL, by saving her pocket money for six months to help make a difference to the lives of some of the world’s poorest children.

Rosie Thompson, from Ballycroneen in East Cork, was moved to donate to GOAL after watching a programme about the charity’s work on RTE TV last year. A first-class pupil in Ballycroneen National School, she saved €50 in coins in a specially converted shoe box.

According to Rosie’s mum, Shermin, the young humanitarian announced she wanted ”to help children where there is war” after seeing the TV programme about GOAL’s work. One of the country’s that GOAL works in is Syria which has been in the grips of civil war for the last nine years.

Having set out initially to make a jewellery box out of a shoebox, Rosie instead created a unique “piggy bank” decorated with multi-coloured tape with the word “GOLE” inscribed in big bold lettering, and a funnel to drop in the money.

This ingenious design ensured that this colourful savings box could not be prised open unnoticed, guaranteeing the money intended for the children GOAL supports was safe!

Rosie managed to avoid the temptation of ice-cream and treats, and kept her savings under wraps even during the tempting Christmas period knowing the end result would be more satisfying than getting the latest toy.

Rosie’s mum revealed that the generosity of her kind daughter has also inspired her younger sibling, Eliza, who has now saved €15 of her own money in aid of GOAL.

“Rosie is a very compassionate person. She just wants everything to be well. The idea to save money to support GOAL was completely her own. It was sparked by what she learned about GOAL’s work on TV, and now she has inspired her sister to get saving too”.

GOAL CEO, Siobhan Walsh, said she was extremely moved by Rosie’s thoughtfulness and extraordinary humanity.

“I was truly humbled when I received the wonderful letter from Rosie’s mother with the €50 explaining what she had done. Youth are our Teachers. They are inspirational and we need to empower them in every way to help change our world. I called Rose’s mother after I received her letter. Rosie is an inspiration, a shining light and we need more of these beautiful bright lights to make our world a better place for all. The important lesson here is that every action we take has a reaction and it changes our world. That’s important to remember.”
7-year-old Rosie Thompson from Ballycroneen in East Cork who touched hearts by saving her pocket for GOAL