THIS is Mustapha, the little Gambian boy whose tragic death led to the launch of our hugely successful Well of Life Appeal – and we need YOU to help us leave a lasting legacy to ensure he is never forgotten.

The eight-year-old fell to his death last year while trying to reach water in one of the crude, hand-drawn wells in his home village of Sintet – a devastating and unnecessary loss which inspired us to join forces with Ridgewood High School’s Project Gambia mission to buy the village a £10,000 solar-powered water pump and farmland irrigation system.

With the fundraising target smashed – the fund now totals more than £11,300 – we’ve decided to name the state-of-the-art system Mustapha’s Well of Life in his honour.

And we want primary school children to help mark the tribute by designing a sign, which will be erected next to the completed well when the school visits the Gambia next March.

We’ve teamed up with Tesco, who are sponsoring the competition by providing prizes including a band new Hudl2 tablet for the winner, plus five further prizes for our runners-up.

And regardless of whether your child makes the final six, we will be publishing EVERY entry on our website, so they and their family and friends can see their handiwork online.

Entries into the competition should be A4-sized and either landscape or portrait in shape. They can be hand drawn or produced on a computer, but must include the child’s name, age, year group and school attended, as well as a parent/carer name and contact number.

News assistant editor Pete Wallace said: “We’re both honoured and delighted to be able to name the well which you, our readers, have donated so generously to, after Mustapha.

“The tragic story of his death at just eight years old, for the want of such a basic and essential necessity as fresh water, touched our hearts, and was what made us so determined to make a real difference to the lives of the people in Sintet.

“We’d also like to thank Tesco for so generously sponsoring this competition by donating some great prizes. This is a wonderful opportunity for a young child in our town, where we take such simple things as being able to turn on a tap for granted, to help us leave a lasting legacy to little Mustapha – and be a part of all the Well of Life Appeal will have done to change the lives of the villagers of Sintet forever.”

All entries must have the words Mustapha’s Well of Life included in the design and the winning picture will be decided on December 4 by a judging panel including Stourbridge MP Margot James, before being made into a plaque.

Competition entries should be sent to Mustapha’s Well of Life Competition, Stourbridge News, St John’s House, St John’s Road, Stourbridge, DY8 1EH, or emailed to pete.wallace@midlands.newsquest.co.uk, before the deadline of November 26.