A GP has scoured Africa for a medical centre project desperately in need of £100,000 of help from south Shropshire’s kind-hearted locals.
Dr Neil Fletcher, who is currently working as a locum GP in south Shropshire, spent much of 2007 working in war-torn Darfur with the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres.
He took time out from his charity work to go on a fact finding mission to Ethiopia to find an area which would benefit from help from his new, Church Stretton-based charity SHAPE (Shropshire Health for Africa Project Ethiopia).
Dr Fletcher told the Journal: “In November three of us accompanied representatives of SUNARMA UK on a visit to sustainable development projects in rural areas run by SUNARMA, an Ethiopian non-governmental organisation. During the visit we identified an area where we would like to work alongside SUNARMA, focusing on the primary healthcare needs of the community.
“We have chosen a place in Ethiopia called Serti, where there is a health centre which is 50 per cent staffed but with no resources. So our first job is to resource it in order to make it a functional unit.
“SHAPE’s initial aim is to help the community achieve access to a basic level of healthcare and health education. We will then support future developments by building relationships with the local healthcare team.
“The fundraising for SHAPE starts now. Dr Fletcher said £5,000 was needed to get the project off the ground, with another £100,000 over three years.
Dr Fletcher admitted that improving healthcare in Ethiopia would be a lengthy process.
“We saw on our visit that implementation is happening progressively, with some elements in place before others. This is mainly because of limited resources but also because of the time it takes to do some things such as train staff or construct buildings.
“SHAPE’s most conspicuous activity in the UK will be fund raising to support primary healthcare in Africa and, without the money, some things cannot happen, so many thanks go to those who are encouraging a young organisation by making personal donations, organising fund raising events and making collections to support our work.
SHAPE’s trustees include Church Stretton Medical Centre’s Dr Digby Bennett and Dr Jenny Howard.
The website www.shapeafrica.org.uk offers information about how to get involved with SHAPE.
