THANKS to a generous donation by the congregation of St John The Evangelist Church in Haydon Wick, work can start to build a house for a family who were affected by last year’s Nepal earthquake.

This week Mike Thomas, the local representative for The Leprosy Mission, was given a cheque of £550 by Russell Riggs, a member of the church’s Mission Team –which will to pay for two walls to a house.

Based in Uffington, Mike, who has been trying to get the word out about their Rebuild Nepal appeal since January, said the donation will help the charity’s work in a big way.

Mike said: “We fundraise as volunteers but also raise awareness of leprosy in schools and churches and a lot of the work we do is through the church but not exclusively.

“A few weeks ago it was World Leprosy Day and Leprosy Mission in conjunction is running an appeal called Rebuild Nepal.

"The Leprosy Mission are responsible for the Anandaban Hospital - a leprosy hospital in which was hit by the earthquake.

"Fortunately, no one was killed but the accommodation for staff was badly damaged and a number of the patients had their homes destroyed and some lost their loved ones.

“I didn’t know how much we would get because we pitched the appeal at three levels. For £50, you can buy a pallet of 100 bricks or for £550 it buys two walls of a house and the really generous thing is to donate £2,500 which will build a whole house with foundations.”

Mike also hopes the appeal will shed light on leprosy which he believes often goes unnoticed in charitable campaigns.

“I always say that leprosy is a forgotten disease and a lot of people think it was only around at the time of the bible but there are nearly a quarter of a million cases every year,” he said.

“It’s a very real disease in the 21st Century and there is not vaccination but there is a cure.

“People have moved o to other tragedies over the last year but these earthquakes have left a terrible legacy and we hope these people won’t be forgotten.”

The Rebuild Nepal campaign will finish in April to mark the first anniversary of the earthquake on April 25.

To donate contact Mike at ukmcthomas@gmail.com.