Nine-year-old girl shares messages of hope with chalk drawings on Doncaster street

Harley Henshaw - Fry, aged nine, decided to get creative with chalk on the street that she lives on in Scawthorpe.

Halifax Crescent is now covered in brightly coloured messages of hope accompanied by rainbows.

Harley’s mother Lauren Henshaw-Fry, aged 33, an NHS theatre practitioner, said: “She wanted to do something to make people smile when they walk past.

“She started just drawing outside our house but she asked if she could do them up and down the street and the neighbours agreed so she has covered everywhere with messages.”

Halifax Crescent is on a popular jogging route and they have already seen people stopping to take photos and say nice comments about Harley’s work.

“I’m very proud of her, everyone is feeling a bit down in the dumps at the moment and she wanted to do something to cheer people up,” Lauren continued.

“It was all her own idea, she’s very creative and artistic and she was inspired by all the rainbows that have been put up around our street.”

Every wall on the street has a different message - some of them include: ‘we will meet again,’ ‘thank you, key workers,’ and ‘be happy.’

“For a lot of people stress and anxiety levels are through the roof at the moment,” Lauren continued.

“We’re only leaving the house for one exercise a day or a trip to the shops.

“There is so much negativity surrounding the virus and Harley just wanted to bring some fun and happiness to us.”

One message in particular resonated with Harley which she heard during the Queen’s speech on Sunday, April 5.

Lauren said: “We all watched the speech together and Harley asked us the significance of the ‘we will meet again’ quote from the queen.

“When she understood that it was so special to people she grasped the concept.

“It’s that there really is light at the end of the tunnel.”

Like all children, Harley has not been able to see her friends except through video calls and is looking forward to seeing them again after Covid-19.

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