A former regional daily journalist is raising funds to build a new school for autistic children in Nepal.

Rob Garratt, who worked for the Eastern Daily Press, recently spent a month volunteering at a school in the Asian country and captured his time on camera.

He is now hoping that sharing portraits of the children he encountered will help boost a campaign to fund a new purpose-built site for the specialist institution in Kathmandu.

Rob hoping to raise £6,500 in total, which would be enough to fund the construction of two new classrooms for the school, as well as making it possible for the school to purchase the land on which it current sits.

One of Rob’s photos from Nepal

The 33-year-old told the EDP: “Working with these children every day was one of the most moving, character-forming experiences of my life.

“The strength, resilience and spirit of these young lives was a constant source of inspiration – as was the basic conditions they are forced to live with.”

He added: “The school is very, very basic – dirty brick structures with corrugated iron roofs, toy blocks so old and chewed-on they no longer fit together, a dozen students crammed in classrooms barely bigger than a cupboard – and 60 students and staff sharing a single toilet.”

To donate to Rob’s appeal, click here.