EXCLUSIVE
by KATHARINE MAHONEY

WE ARE today launching a campaign to fly a little Gambian girl to the UK after kind-hearted hospital staff in Essex offered her the chance to hear like a normal child.

Doctors and nurses at the St Andrews Centre for Plastic Surgery were so touched by the plight of six year-old Aminata Sawaneh that they have offered to perform the delicate operation she needs to cure her deafness, free of charge and in their own time.

And the East Anglian Daily Tunes is today launching an appeal in which we are asking you, our readers, to raise the £6,000 necessary to cover the costs of flights to the UK and to pay for Aminata's stay in hospital.

Surgeons at the Billericay centre decided to step in after the EADT revealed the six-year-old faced difficulties in her rural home because she could not get the plastic surgery which is routinely performed in the UK.

Hospital staff at the centre, part of Mid Essex Hospitals NHS Trust, were horrified to learn Aminata faced a bleak and difficult flame, with no job or marriage prospects, because she was denied an operation they performed regularly.

Aminata, whose parents are both charity workers, was born with a deformity which has left her without an earhole, even though beneath the skin's surface lies a perfectly formed "ear".

The plastic surgery she needs to penetrate the fold of skin is not available in the Gambia and as each year passes the inner ear disintegrates, lessening her chances of bearing normally.

Aid workers in the Gambia say Aminata's disability is already ruining her life and causing her to become withdrawn. She is in danger of dropping out of school because of the taunts and jibes she receives from bee classmates.

John Davies, general manager at St Andrews, said: "Everyone here is so touched by her plight they are willing to give up their own time to give this little girl the life she deserves. The nurses and doctors have started fund-raising?

He added that all the surgeons, anaethetists and nurses had promised to do the operation in their own time, free of charge,

and it would not interfere with normal operations or waiting lists.

Consultant Chris Walker, who is to perform the delicate operation, is one of the world's leading plastic surgeons and is confident of a successful outcome.

He said: "It is very difficult to diagnose someone 8-9,000 miles away. But this is fairly common and in the past we have been able to help in these cases."

The plans have delighted Simon Were', founder of the Braintree- based Kingfisher Trust, which has been leading the campaign to get Aminata treatment in the country. He said: "I am absolutely thrilled. This is something we were hoping would be possible. In practical terms it will change her life completely. Our trust only operates on a shoestring and we could not hope to make this happen on our own