THE South Somerset-run School in a Bag charity initiative is celebrating a significant landmark in its first donation to South America.

Some 32 school bags containing simple, but vital, equipment, such as books, pens and pencils, have been delivered to street children in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The bag also contains eating utensils, and thousands have been distributed around the world to vulnerable and disaster-affected children.

School in a Bag, which is run by the Piers Simon Appeal, collaborated with the Bristol-based charity Flamingo Foundation to achieve the breakthrough into South America.

During a recent trip to Rio, the Flamingo Foundation delivered the school bags to street children who stay at a house located in a slum called Parada de Lucas.

The Piers Simon Appeal has now delivered 37,425 school bags to under-privileged children around the globe.

Charity liaison officer Luke Simon said: “We’re absolutely delighted that through the Flamingo Foundation we were able to give school bags to some of the children in Rio.

“The consignment to Brazil means it is the twelfth country where we have handed out school bags to children.”

The PSA was formed as a disaster relief charity after the death of landscape gardener Piers Simon, who had worked at Forde Abbey during his career, in the 2004 Asian tsunami while on holiday in Thailand.

For more details about the PSA log onto www.pierssimonappeal.org