TENS of thousands of pounds more than expected have been raised in Derby towards the building of a school in impoverished Kashmir.
The Mayor of Derby, Fareed Hussain, who was born in Kashmir, had already agreed to donate £10,000 from his Mayor's Fund to the READ Foundation project in the isolated Neelam Valley.
On Friday, a fund-raiser was held at The Spot by Mr Hussain and Normanton's PAK Foods supermarket.
It is expected to raise about £30,000.
But the Mayor has told of his delight after city businesses and individuals donated £65,000, bringing the total to £75,000 – about the value of the whole school.
It means works can start on building it straight away.
Mr Hussain said: "It's beyond my wildest imagination. I didn't think for one moment we could do this in one evening."
The Mayor's Fund is boosted by donations made throughout the mayoral year.
Mr Hussain says most of the money is raised from people and organisations that invite him to attend events.
After his plans for the Kashmir school were revealed, a number of people on Twitter said they thought Mr Hussain should have donated the cash to charities that help people in Derby. But Mr Hussain pointed out that the remainder of the cash raised had been used in this way, with £11,877 going to Alzheimer's Society and another £4,500 being divided among eight organisations.
These include Derby-based Hoverla Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, The Dove Project, Derby Kids' Camp, and Derby Sands, as well as Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre, Teenage Cancer Trust, YMCA, and ABF The Soldiers' Charity. All the donations will be presented to the charities at a reception due to take place at the Council House on Friday.
Mr Hussain said he knew he could use the £10,000 and reach out to Derby's business community to give the project a kick-start.
He said: "I knew there was potential if we could give READ Foundation a helping hand.
"We've raised £75,000 and I don't think we'll need to raise much more.
" As far as we are concerned all the funding is now in place."
The school will cater for 200 primary-age children in an area where there are no school buildings.
READ has pledged that Derby will figure in the name of the school, which is now expected to be up and running within a year.
Mr Hussain previously said: "In many cases in that valley, children are being taught under a tree or in an open field."
No-one was available to comment at Pak Foods.
Kashmir is divided among three countries in a territorial dispute.
Pakistan controls the north-west portion, India controls the central and southern portion and Ladakh region, and China controls the north-eastern part.
The school will be built in the Pakistan-controlled Muzaffarbad District.
