It’s table-tennis, right?

Wrong. George’s right hand is hidden but, no, he isn’t holding a bat. He’s playing HEADIS, a sport described as combining table-tennis and football, in which players use their heads to hit a ball back and forth over a table.

It’s not the only way that George uses his head. By 16, and half-way through secondary school, he believed it was more important for him to get a job than to continue with his education. Adrian Popa who runs Blythswood’s after-school programme in Jimbolia, Romania, persuaded him to think again.

“I confronted him about the need to make a decision on the Baccalaureate,” Adrian says. “He is afraid of failure and I accept that the result of his last exam was not encouraging. But I promised him that Blythswood would continue to support him if he was willing to make the effort.

“In the end he registered for a vocational programme which is less academic but still gives him the option of sitting the Baccalaureate exam.

“He is honest and consistent in his commitment. He is trying hard at maths and at Romanian language and he has good teachers here at Talita Kum. If he continues like this, I believe he can pass the exam.”

With your support, Talita Kum and TK2 provide nutrition, extra tuition, and a full cultural programme for young people from disadvantaged families, many with limited literacy.