Youngsters who took up the challenge to get involved in this year’s Felixstowe Fairtrade Fortnight have been presented with awards for helping to promote the event.

Children in the town helped organise activties for the fortnight – which highlights the campaign to help some of the world’s poorest people by securing them a fairer deal for their goods and decent working conditions – and designed posters.

Deputy mayor Doreen Savage presented the certificates and also handed out awards to the winners of the children’s puppet competition, designed to promote Fairtrade cafes in Felixstowe.

Those receiving awards were Bryony Duffield, from Colneis Junior School; Abigail Cairns, Colneis Junior; Isaac Smith, Grange Primary; Libby Lee, Grange Primary; Mollie Read, Langer Primary Academy, winner of the Fairtrade poster design competition; Rosie Hassan and Nikki Collier, both of Langer Primary Academy and both highly commended for their posters; Alex Twomey, winner of the Puppet Search Competition and runner-up Paige Cole.

Also award winners but unable to attend the presentation were Betty Freeman, Colneis Junior; Tahlia Mays, Grange Primary; and Joshua Rolfe, Grange Primary.

The presentations took place at the United Reformed Church, Orwell Road, as part of a coffee and cakes morning to mark the end of Fairtrade Fortnight.

Alan Muchal, chairman of the Felixstowe Fairtrade Forum, said: “This year’s Fairtrade Fortnight in Felixstowe has been a great success.

“With the help of the town’s Youth Forum and Felixstowe Library we organised a Fairtrade Fun Fiesta at Café Libra, the library’s in-house coffee shop. The event took place in the week before Fairtrade Fortnight and attracted over 60 children.

“The children’s puppet competition has also proved popular, with animal puppets placed at Greggs, Café Libra, The River of Life Café and Café Ology at the Leisure Centre – all cafes selling the full range of Fairtrade hot drinks. Children were asked to discover the names of the puppets.

“It is encouraging to see the involvement of young people in Fairtrade and we hope we can build further on the contacts made during this period.”

Membership of Felixstowe Fairtrade Forum is free and new individual and corporate members are always welcome – people can join via the web site www.felixstowe-fairtrade.org.uk or by contacting Stephen Wyatt on 01394 671033.