That’s why I started the charity: out of compassion for people
Olivia Giles, founder of 500 miles, tells us all about the charity’s important work in Africa – and the value of being able to put one foot in front of the other.
OLIVIA GILES set up the charity 500 miles in 2007, to support the development and delivery of prosthetic and orthotic services in Malawi and Zambia.
“When I founded the charity, I wanted to name it 500 miles after the Proclaimers’ famous lyrics, ‘I would walk 500 miles’, because that’s what we aim to do: get people who have lost legs – or the use of their legs – up and walking.
“In 2002, at the age of thirty-six, I contracted meningococcal septicaemia, which is the blood poisoning form of meningitis. As a result my lower arms and legs became gangrenous and had to be amputated to save my life. I went through a six-month residential rehabilitation process after the wounds from the amputations had healed.
“The best part of my rehab will always be when I was fitted with my first prosthetic legs, and learned to use them. And the best day of my life was the day I took my first independent steps on them. I owe my life and my quality of life to our amazing NHS.
“Then, the first time I was in Malawi, I saw an aboveknee amputee literally living in the gutter – ragged and filthy, crawling along in the dirt with everyone giving him a wide berth.
“That ghastly snapshot catapulted me right back to the almost-forgotten secret horror I experienced – a primal fear of being left to crawl on the ground. Of losing my human dignity.
“That man was a human being with human fears, just like me. And whereas my fears were quickly dispelled by assurances that I’d be well looked after, his were well founded. The horror I glimpsed momentarily had become his daily waking reality.
“That’s why I started the charity: out of compassion for people who I suddenly saw as me or mine.
“I know that if you took my prosthetics away and dumped me in downtown Lilongwe with no money, I’d be just like that man. My legs are a lifeline, and my most valuable possession. They give me independence, dignity and hope.
“I would like at least some people in Africa who are suffering like that to have the same second chance that I was handed on a plate: the chance to get up and live their lives.”
What was at first a labour of love for Olivia very quickly became a full-time occupation.
“On a day-to-day basis, I liaise with the ex-pat managers of our two centres in Malawi, and I am also in regular contact with the Malawian Health
Service officials regarding the services we provide, and our long-term plans.
“I co-ordinate and control our Zambian operation myself, as we don’t have a centre in that country, and that involves working with in-country service providers.
“I carry out the administration of the charity from Edinburgh. I also give an average of one or two talks a month in the UK.”
Alongside working to make prosthetic and orthotic services as accessible and affordable as possible, funds raised by the charity help sponsor important training programmes – with the aim of making the services more sustainable locally in the long term.
“In both Malawi and Zambia, our second major activity is to train local men and women to become prosthetists and orthotists,
by sending them to internationally recognised colleges in Tanzania, Cambodia and India.
“We’ve sponsored, or are sponsoring, twenty-one qualifications so far. The cost is about £7,500 per student per year of study, and we have a deal with the ministries of health in both Malawi and Zambia that if we sponsor the training, they will employ the students when they qualify.
“In practice it’s never quite as simple as that, and it often takes a year or more to push them into the system – but we do get there.
“So fund-raising is really important for us, too. We have a number of regular, loyal supporters who are part of our ‘One Smile’ initiative, which allows donors to pay a monthly or annual sum by direct debit, and we receive donations from many individuals and businesses.
“We have also been very fortunate to have been able to secure funding for specific projects from single corporate and trustee donors – like for the training of individual students, and the construction of our centres in Malawi.
“I am constantly amazed at the initiatives people set up for 500 miles, ranging from running marathons to holding coffee mornings and collections at churches.
“We have our own major fund-raising drives approximately every four to five years. In 2009, we raised over £250,000 through our ‘Miles for Smiles’ event, which saw 500 people each walk a mile in Edinburgh on the same day, followed by a fund-raising dinner at which the Proclaimers played.
“In 2015 we doubled that sum from our BIG Dinner event, where people all over the world held individual dinner parties and raised funds for us.
“Late last year, my regular visit to Malawi tied in with our charity cycle event, which saw 20 people – including my husband
– cycle from the Mzuzu centre to the Lilongwe centre down the shore of Lake Malawi. The cyclists were in pairs, cycling 250 miles each, so making 500 miles per pair in total. This event raised £65,000.”
Given all the hard work, and the tremendous difference the charity makes in so many lives, are there any particular stand-out moments which inspire Olivia to keep going?
“Definitely. Meeting one lady – Susan Banda – whom we were able to help. She was facing a future with little hope, then we fitted her with legs and she walked into the room on her legs to greet me. I was looking at a normal, beautiful young woman with a full life and prospects.
“Opening our 500 miles centres in Mzuzu and Lilongwe were also very special occasions.
“It’s hard to put a value on pain-free, independent mobility. Being able to make that available to other people who wouldn’t get it otherwise keeps me motivated. I know how much it meant to me.”