Braintree and Witham Times, Thursday, January 19, 1995

New plea to aid Gambia

by

JON WHITE

AN appeal to 700 schools in Essex to support poverty-stricken pupils in The Gambia has fallen on deaf ears.

Mid-Essex campaigner Simon Wezel, who runs Witham firm Continental Thomas Boers, wrote to headteachers throughout the county to try and drum up support for his scheme to sponsor education packs for African youngsters.

He asked for pupils to donate £1 to pay for a basic kit of pens, pencils and other stationary equipment essential to give Gambian students a chance to learn.

Until renewing his appeal this week he had heard nothing from the schools. Staff at Essex County Council helped distribute his leaflets.

Now Mr Wezel, who hit the headlines when he successfully fought the Home Office to keep a Gambian schoolboy in the UK, is hoping for a better response this time.

" To say that I was dis-appointed first time is an understatement. It's so silly. For one pound you can do so much," he said.

" I'm still hammering on with this. It's a hard slog and it takes a lot of time but I won't give up," he added.

The appeal, run via Gambian-registered charity The Kingfisher Trust, includes shipments of vital medical aid to the country for use at a hospital in Bansang.

Help also comes from Clacton author Terry Palmer and Kettering woman Anita Smith.

Mr Wezel is hoping to comandeer an old mortuary, which is being dismantled, to help out the African medics in a part of the country where facilites are primitive and weekly wages average only £5.

You can write to The Kingfisher Trust at Dunoon Close, Braintree CM7 6FN, or telephone 0376 325610