A group of Bradford schoolchildren have taken part in a Christmas project designed to raise awareness of poverty in Kenya.

Thornton Grammar pupils were asked to name the item they would most love to receive for Christmas, while children in the African nation did the same.

The project is being run by the Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) in conjunction with the Kenyan government who commissioned surveys of similarly-aged youngsters in both countries.

In the Bradford suburb, the top choices were a drum kit, a pet mouse and electronic games. Play Station IIIs, i-Phone Touch, laptops, iPods and X Boxes were also popular choices.

Meanwhile, three orphan brothers in Korogocho, a poor suburb of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, chose very practical and simple gifts.

Ronaldo, who is 15 and has run the household since their mother left, wants sponsorship so he can go to secondary school, because he cannot afford the annual fee of about £25.

His 13-year-old brother, Alvin, wants “an Action Man soldier and some new corrugated iron sheets to cover the holes in our roof, so the rain stops coming in”.

Cliff, nine, would ask for “some new clothes – really new ones, not second hand”.

Other Christmas wishes for 2008 from Kenyan children included: “food for my family and some story books”, “red shoes”, “some good boots”, “a red bicycle for Christmas or a pair of Safari boots”, “some plastic flowers to decorate the house”.

International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said: “Most children in Bradford will be eagerly awaiting their Christmas holidays. Yet these children in the Kenyan slums want nothing more than to go back to school.

“Aid given by the UK Government means that the people of Britain are helping make these Christmas wishes come true.”

The DFID is working on the project with the Kenyan government’s Orphans and Vulnerable Children Cash-Transfer Scheme, which provides £25 every two months to 500 families in the Korogocho suburb of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

The money goes towards expenses such as food, rent and school uniforms, in return for the children going to school, attending health clinics and registering for identity papers.

DFID has pledged to spend up to £4 million a year for ten years on the programme, which will ultimately help around 30,000 households. The money is matched by £1.5m from the Kenyan government.