Fixby pair John and Chris Philip pack for another Tanzania aid mission
Nov 22 2010 Huddersfield Daily Examiner
Fixby pair John and Chris Philip pack for another Tanzania aid mission
A PAIR of international aid volunteers have pioneered a mission to help some of the world’s poorest people.
John and wife Chris Philip, of Fixby, have collected £100,000 worth of hospital, school and training equipment for the people of Ukerewe Island, Tanzania.
The island, in Lake Victoria, is about three-quarter the size of Anglesey, in Wales.
But Ukerewe has 360,000 people and just 22 secondary schools and only one hospital with a paltry four doctors.
The hospital has received considerable aid from appeals by the couple and the Rotary Club, of which they are both members.
But says John, a retired Huddersfield Royal Infirmary surgeon, much work is needed to improve the island’s maternity services and educational framework.
As well as medical and school equipment this appeal’s cargo includes basic tools, such as hammers and screwdrivers, for teaching Tanzanians manual skills.
Equipment, new and used, has been supplied by Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, other local hospitals and Kirklees schools.
On the Saturday the gear was packed into a 40ft container, which will be sent to the country which borders Kenya and Uganda.
