My Name Is Bex

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As a teacher Bex Wilson saw what happened when kids didn't have beds and decided to act.

Bex realised that she had primary school children in her Leeds classroom who were exhausted because they had no proper beds to sleep on. She now delivers free beds to those in need

The reality of youngsters in Britain not having a proper bed to sleep on shocked Bex Wilson into taking immediate action: she's founded a charity, Zarach, which makes deliveries to families in need and over Christmas alone more than 50 beds were delivered to youngsters in Leeds.

Bex says it continually surprises her how many kids don't have beds. It was something she first noticed as a teacher, when a little boy who was normally fine in lessons was having a bad morning. At the end of the lesson she talked to him and was shocked when he told her he was always tired and didn’t have a bed to sleep on.

She says at first she couldn’t believe it, but then he pulled up his jumper and she saw bed bug bites across his stomach from an infected sofa cushion that he and his sister had put on the floor and were sharing each night. She decided to act and in this programme she explains what she feels needs to be done to combat this terrible disadvantage.

Realising that many other families across Leeds and Yorkshire face similar situations of being unable to afford adequate beds for their children, she gathered together friends and colleagues and set up the charity, Zarach, which means "rising light" in Hebrew. The name came from the gratitude expressed by that first mother, who told them they had brought much needed hope in her darkest days.

They have provided beds to nearly 1,400 children across Yorkshire since 2018 and the charity has grown from a family operation to a team of over 58 volunteers. They work with more than 200 schools and partner organisations to receive referrals and teachers in other areas are looking into how they can establish something similar to help those who have nothing proper to sleep on.

Produced by Sue Mitchell
Presented by Bex Wilson

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