A schoolgirl and her twin brothers have raised £1,200 to help orphans they met on a family holiday.

Angelica Gottlieb, 15, Joel and Oliver, 12, of Totteridge, visited an orphanage in Africa while on a holiday with their parents Julie and Julius this summer.

The orphanage in Zambia houses 44 children, many of whose parents have died from AIDS. 

Angelica, who goes to North London Collegiate School in Edgware, said: “It was quite moving. I was talking to the kids helping them to read and draw and my brothers were playing football with some of the boys.

“When we got back I decided I wanted to make more of a difference and help them in the long run.

"I especially wanted to help a girl called Beatrice who told me she wanted to be a lawyer – I want to make that dream more of a reality.”

Beatrice was so desperate to read she was studying a Chelsea FC annual from approximately 1978 and although staff at the orphanage said she is very bright, without access to books, it is unlikely she will be able to achieve her ambitions. 

Oliver is a keen artist and decided to sell his drawings and paintings of African animals including lions, tigers and elephants while Angelica and Joel tried to raise as much cash from friends and family.

All the money they have raised has gone towards creating gift-filled pillows which are being sent to the orphanage as part of the family’s Pack a Pillow campaign.

The goody-bags are stuffed with essential items such as shoes, t-shirts as well as puzzles.

The Gottlieb’s are continuing to help the orphanage and are preparing to raise cash to buy Kindles for the children.

Angelica said: “One of the biggest problems is shipping out books because it’s so expensive so we’d really like to get some Kindles out there to help the children with their reading.”

The family is raising money through its Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/Julie-Gottlieb.