Thanks to local students, a trove of football boots, sneakers and school shoes is headed for children in Haiti at the orphanage and school run by Feeds My Lambs Ministry.

The donations, collected at schools around the island, were pulled together by the Rotary Interact Club — with some help from nine-year-old Mikayla Lema, the niece of ministry founder Phillip Rego, who is looking forward to her third volunteering trip to Haiti.

“They really need it,” Mikayla’s mother, Naomi Lema, told club members as they gathered with their donations. “The orphanage has about 60 children and the school has 700.”

Yesterday marked another milestone for Feed My Lambs, with the opening of its dental clinic.

Megan Zimmerer, the head girl at Saltus, co-ordinated the effort as the Interact’s director of international and community service, while Mikayla, a group leader at her Brownies division, pitched in with clothing and shoes.

“Making new friends,” is her favourite thing about going to Haiti, said Mikayla, who attends Harrington Sound Primary School, and raises money through bake sales to help her uncle’s work.

Kayla Dowling, the current president of the club, said they were hoping to expand their work next year “so that we can help these children who have gone through turmoil”.

Ms Lema added that members can also contribute by going with the local volunteers in March.

Cathy Bassett, who directs Rotary Interact along with Glenda Edwards and Kemar Brown, said the group had developed an impressive range of community activities: a trash-a-thon is coming up for the Collectors Hill and Devon Springs area on February 4, with part of the proceeds raised going to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bermuda. In June, six students with assistance from Hamilton Rotary Club will attend an international Rotary convention in the United States.

“It’s come a long way in two years,” Ms Bassett said, noting that the club of students aged 12 to 18 largely run their own affairs.

“I’m stepping back a bit this year. I consider myself a guide on the side, not a sage on the stage.”

• Anyone interested in joining should ask their school principal or counsellor, who can contact Ms Bassett at 293-1394