MORE than 100 people got a taste of what it is like to be homeless by sleeping overnight in cardboard boxes. They gathered at the Sunken Garden on Friday evening to launch the Hope for a Child charity and raised £10,000 in the process.

Lt-Governor Sir Fabian Malbon came along to show his support and chatted for an hour with those taking part.

Organiser Sue Herring said the event had exceeded everyone’s expectations.

‘We wanted to do something meaningful and it was a way of trying to identify with the very people we aim to help. Not that we could ever do so completely, of course,’ she said.

‘There was a great atmosphere and everybody had a really good time.

‘Most people stayed up chatting all through the night, although some did get some sleep.

‘I’m amazed they actually slept in their boxes – I didn’t think they would.’

Hope for a Child was founded by Mrs Herring and her husband, Roy, after they adopted an orphaned Chinese girl, Isobel, two-and-a-half years ago.

It aims to raise £20m. over the next 10 years for abandoned children all over the world.

Mr Herring said sleeping under the stars in a public place in the middle of Town on a Friday night had certainly attracted a great deal of attention.

‘We had a lot of stewards stationed around the area to keep it secure and escort people to the toilets,’ he said.

‘We raised a lot of money from revellers of the night who came over to see what we were doing.

‘Our young people taking part were totally fearless and approached these others, who just emptied their pockets.

‘There was a real mix of people here – we even had one gentleman who was himself homeless for two-and-a-half years and had actually slept rough here in the Sunken Garden.’

A large proportion of the crowd were members of the Church on the Rock in St Sampson’s.

An auction for a bed raised £405 on the night and there was also a prize for the best-decorated box.

A film about Mr and Mrs Herring’s recent visit to Uganda was shown.

All the money made by the charity will be used to build centres to accommodate orphans and abandoned children in African countries.

Hope for a Child group manager Phillip Smith said although the money raised was a fantastic amount, the real objective of the night had been to create awareness of the charity.

‘What struck me was the positivity of the people gathered here. They were truly inspired by the film they saw and were asking questions about how they could get involved,’ he said.

‘The enthusiasm oozes out and rubs off on everyone else.

‘We certainly didn’t expect to make £10,000 and it enables us to get going in our first country, which is more than likely to be Uganda,’ he said.

‘Many places there already have the infrastructure in place, but we will be giving them the resources they need through regular visits by the Guernsey team.

‘We are such an affluent island and we have to do something.’