IT was enough to make them dance with joy.

For the first time in their lives, children from one of the most impoverished corners of the world have new shoes - and it was thanks to the fundraising efforts of youngsters at Fair Oak's Wyvern Technology College.

Now more than 300 children from the slums of Kware, near kenya's capital Nairobi, can step out with new shoes.

Wyvern was the first school to be involved in the Fair Oak-based St Thomas' Handshake to Kware Appeal, which has brought new hope to what was in danger of becoming a forgotten corner of the world.

Fundraising events have included sponsored silences, while some pupils have dipped into their own savings.

Wyvern head teacher Sheila Campbell was in Kware to see the children try on their new footwear. She spoke of their joy as the children stepped out of their classrooms into muddy streets to show off their new shoes.

Miss Campbell said: "They just kept looking at them and rubbing the dust off." It was such a new experience that many of them had to be taught how to tie their shoelaces.

Miss Campbell was in Kware with Stoke Park Infant head teacher Norma Walsh to celebrate the laying of a foundation stone of the Lord's School.

The new development - which is the latest fundraising target for the St Thomas' Handshake to Kware Appeal - will build on the work carried out by the existing primary schools and prevent children from slipping back into the slums.