A HUMANITARIAN charity helped an African organisation build a new treatment centre for disabled children in Cameroon.

And now the Swindon branch of the Future In Our Hands Education and Development Fund needs to keep fundraising to ensure that it can continue supporting youngsters at the centre in the town of Bafoussam.

Michael Thomas from Cheney Manor co-founded the charity in 1995 and its latest project has been helping a small NGO in Cameroon which has built and managed the centre.

The 78-year-old said: “Since I was quite young, I’ve been concerned about people living in poverty and used to wonder how there could be so many of them.

“As I grew older, I understood and rather than campaign for change, I thought it would be more practical to set up a charity.

“We’ve supported a wide variety of projects over the years.

“I’m very pleased that we’ve helped thousands of people and many of our projects have been sustainable.

“Hopefully this centre will keep going, though it’s run on a shoestring and needs more funding.”

The charity supports the Global Rehabilitation Services (GLORES) non-government organisation, which is founded and run by top Cameroon physiotherapist Alfred Wingo.

He has helped hundreds of children with physical disabilities at the centre.

Work on the centre started in 2014 and was completed in 2017, then GLORES transferred its operations there in April 2017.

Currently, 20 children and three adults with severe disabilities are being treated there using physiotherapy techniques.

Michael added: “Alfred is a remarkable man, he works so hard to help children in what, I think, is the only centre of its kind in the western region of the country.

“GLORES used to operate from a poor rented building using very basic equipment.

“Our chairman Alan Stewart and I visited GLORES, then offered to contribute towards their new treatment centre.

“It lost its main source of funding several years ago, so they can’t treat as many children as they used to.

“The centre is finished now but it’s quite difficult to keep going.”

For more information about the project, email enquiries@fiohnetwork.org or call 01793 532353

To donate, visit fiohnetwork.org

Cheques can be made payable to Future in Our Hands E&D Fund, 48 Churchward Avenue, Swindon, SN2 1NH.