PUPILS at Nursteed Community Primary School in Devizes have been learning about how children in Africa cope without things they take for granted.

They have been put in contact with six-year-old Mesfin Tadesse, who lives in a farming community in the remote, mountainous South Wollo area of Ethiopia.

Mesfin does not go to school and cannot be sure of clean water or of getting one square meal a day. Electric power is a distant dream.

The Friends of Nursteed School sponsor Mesfin and his family with £18 a month through the charity World Vision.

Chairman Alex Eaves said: "One of our members had the idea of sponsoring an animal at Bristol Zoo, but we thought it better to sponsor a child."

Headteacher David Sibun said it was early days to find out how Mesfin, who cannot read or write, is responding, but it is certainly having an effect on the pupils in Devizes.

Contact with Mesfin was giving them a wider perspective.

"They are astounded that Mesfin doesn't necessarily have clean water to drink," he said.