Bubbles against Ebola . . .

Thirty-six miles from Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone, is a collection of six small villages called, logically, Mile 36. There are over 100 houses with many people living there – extended families of 10 or more. During the civil war of 1992-2002 it was razed to the ground, and by the end of the war there was no education provision whatsoever in the area. This in a country ranked the lowest on the United Nations Human Development Index, and the seventh poorest country in the world.

Enter David Wallwork, who belongs to Ramsey Rotary Club. With his family he founded the David School at Mile 36, which has transformed the community, providing both academic learning and practical skills training. It is now open in the evenings so adults can benefit as well as children.

The school is run by the David School Trust, a UK charity with very low running costs, and with the motto Education Changes Lives. The David School opened in 2008 with 170 primary level pupils (the name was chosen by the local community). It now has a secondary section as well – the final construction being completed in 2014 by self-funded volunteers. There are now 300 pupils aged 5 to 16.

The school is supported by several of our local Rotary Clubs, and we are proud of the fact that Peterborough Ortons Rotary Club is among that number.

We would like your help this year. Thankfully the scourge of Ebola has subsided in West Africa, however it could come back. No doubt steps are being taken to minimise its return. One way to counteract an outbreak is to encourage hand washing since a major source of infection is transmission by hand contact. To help, Ortons Rotary Club is making an appeal for bars of soap to send to The David School in Sierra Leone.

We were helped in a similar effort last year by Tesco, who matched our donation of bars of soap.

This year we have asked for contributions of soap bars from all the supermarkets in Peterborough and would like to extend the appeal further. If you can contribute, or know of a source that can, please contact Keith Goldsmith using the club’s email: orton.rotary@gmail.com