Weather
Zimbabwe visit stirs emotions for Marlow father
7:20am Monday 19th October 2009
A FATHER who set up a charity for the world’s poorest children with his wife said visiting Zimbabwe stirred the full range of emotions.
Bright Tomorrows was established in 2003 by Marlow couple Francis White, 42, and Sarah White, 40, who live in Frieth Road.
Mr White, who is head of marketing for an American medical company, went out to Mutoko, a rural area outside Harare in Zimbabwe in September.
It is one of the areas where the charity has invested money.
The couple only provide funds to places where they have personally visited and where they can guarantee the money reaches.
Mr White said visiting some of the planet’s poorest regions opened his eyes and led to creating the charity.
“Predominantly, it stems from Sarah getting inspired when she was at university and dragging me out to a couple of places - Calcutta, Mozambique. “When you’ve seen it first hand it’s hard to turn your back.”
Although the plight of Zimbabweans may have slipped out of the media spotlight, their position remains perilous, Mr White said.
“It’s a pretty desperate situation. In the 1990s it was seen as the bright hope for Africa but since then it’s gone down to nothing.
“People are struggling for survival. I saw children out there who were starving, so it’s pretty traumatic.”
He said: “The AIDs epidemic which wipes out the working age people - the parents essentially - leaves a generation gap.
“You have young children and grandparents and nobody in between. People who would traditionally provide the income, they’re missing.”
Around one in four children are now AIDs orphans in the country.
The charity has provided counselling support for these youngsters dealing with the loss of their parents, set up a crop growing programme and spent money on basic food aid and school fees.
Mr White said seeing the children affected up brought mixed feelings during his visit.
“Emotions oscillate when you’re in this kind of context,” he said.
“You go through a range of frustration, anger, pain, the whole lot really and then when you do see the good things that are working it’s joy. I think it covered everything in that week.”
The organisation has recently increased its funding to the area.
“We feel they’re creating some sort of belief that they can make a difference in their own life and there’s a ray of hope,” Mr White said.
“So it’s not just pouring money into a black hole.”
The charity raises about £7,000 to 8,000 per year but administration and travelling costs comes out of the trustees’ own pockets.
It has received cash from the Marlow Round Table, the Bourne End and Cookham Rotary Club while a number of businesses in and around Marlow have been part of a printer cartridge recycling scheme.
Sarah’s father Chris Sheldon, who lives on Marlow Common, raises money by having a mini-fete in his gardens each year.
The couple, who have two children of their own - Robin, 16, and Edward, 13 - hope to give a glimmer of hope to impoverished youngsters for a better future.
http://www.brighttomorrows.org.uk/
More News stories
- Targets damaging ambulance response times, probe finds
- Man, 60, in court on 1980 rape charge
- Council tax set for £28 rise
- Anger at health bosses paying £2.4m to agency staff
- Arrests possible in racist graffiti investigation
- Anger as members discover gym is up for auction
- Pair arrested after car theft
- Pilot feared for his life in Heathrow crash
- Fourfold increase for council magazine costs
- Fearne Cotton gears up for Sport Relief with Marlow Professor
Zimbabwe visit stirs emotions for Marlow father
Advertisers
Local Information
Enter your postcode, town or place name
