Sompting girl warms hearts with her sale of drawings for children in Africa

Amélie-Isabella Ellaway came up with the idea herself and initially wanted to sell her pictures for £100 each.

Mum Hayley Ellaway explained: “My daughter came to me at 6am and told me she ‘had a brilliant idea’.

“She asked if she could draw some pictures and then set a little stall up outside to sell them to passers by, and then send the money to ‘poor children in Africa who had no parents, that we’d seen on TV over Christmas’.

“So, after my third cup of tea, and her persistent badgering, we set up a table.

“I felt she was a little ambitious with her £100 a picture idea and encouraged her to write a ‘suggested donation of 10p’ sign.”

Mrs Ellaway said the residents of Mickey Mouse Town, as the area is known, had been ‘so incredibly sweet’ with her daughter during her sale on Sunday morning.

She added: “I can’t believe how many stopped, even a passing van. It seems I didn’t give her pictures enough credit, as most donated £1 or more.”

Amélie-Isabella is proud to have donated £37 to Save the Children and her efforts were highlighted by Sompting Big Local, with a post on Facebook saying ‘a lovely gesture from a little girl in Sompting, giving something back to those less fortunate’.

Mrs Ellaway said: “She is so surprised and excited about all of the lovely comments and likes online. She has asked to make some little heart decorations to pop outside in a basket, ‘hugs’, just to say thank you and for anyone passing by needing a smile.

“They’re cardboard hearts, drawn and cut out from a pack of card sheets she was given by Santa, and decorated with glitter. We made them as tree decorations last year and they all seemed to go.”