Page 286 - James Caan - The Real Deal

The Real Deal

quickly, so that would mean 400 pairs of shoes perhaps three times
a year. For ever. Whenever I thought I could make a simple
gesture, it would end up being expensive and complicated and I
realised I had to draw a line somewhere. For instance, I might
decide that all the kids should get milk every day, but that would
be 400 pints of milk, every day of the school year, for ever. There
were issues with refrigeration I’d have to think about. What I hope
is that within a decade or so the education the kids are getting will
mean they will earn at a level that allows them to contribute to
their household budgets, and that should mean kids won’tbe
walking to school in bare feet for ever.
Of all the things we failed to anticipate, the biggest oversight has
to be what would happen to the kids when they reached the age
of eleven. The school is for primary-school-age kids, but, on a
recent trip I took with Aisha and the girls, Jemma pointed out that
there isn’t a secondary school in the area. Without one, the kids
would drop out of the system, become dependent on their families
again and perhaps forget the skills that would one day land them
a good job. I realised we’d only done half the job and that the only
answer was to build a secondary school. Construction starts in
2008.
I am incredibly proud of my daughters. They have grown up to
be intelligent, thoughtful and beautiful women with terrific futures
ahead of them when they finish university. The thing I am most
proud of is their dedication to the school: they feel the same
responsibility as I do. To make sure the school gets the support it
needs, we have agreed that Hanah will be responsible for visiting,
maintaining and supporting the primary school, Jemma will be the
custodian of the senior school, and I have pledged to fund the
university career of any child who reaches the academic levels
necessary for higher education.
It is a substantial financial commitment, and it is a commitment
for life. I have set up the James Caan Foundation to secure the

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