The Woohoo! Report

By John Coles

A Student was so moved by the plight of kids in a decrepit African orphanage she raised £30,000 — and bought it.

Caring Amy Lambert, 24, spent eight weeks last summer caring for the 150 boys and girls, who were crammed six to a dirty single bed.

All the children — who had lost parents to Aids — were starving and dehydrated, with most wracked with malaria.

So when Amy, an undergraduate at Bath Spa University, returned to Britain she organised a series of charity events — raising £30,000 in seven months.

But she then asked cash-strapped authorities in Tanzania if she could BUY the dilapidated Kichijo Orphanage.

Amy plans to move there this summer after completing her degree in psychology and health studies.

She said: “These children are the most beautiful, selfless people I have ever met. I was prepared for things to be difficult in Africa but what I witnessed broke my heart.

“I became so attached to the orphans after two months. I came home to my nice cosy house and knew that I had to do something.”

Single Amy described her heartbreak at seeing a three-year-old so sick with malaria he could barely move — despite treatment costing just 50p.

She said: “I saw eight-year-olds teaching children with special needs how to use the toilet. There are many special-needs children, with Down’s syndrome and cerebral palsy, but no facilities. Other children bathe them.

“I saw one baby chewing on a metal nail because it was teething. It is horrible. They need to be cared for.”

Amy, of Pewsham, Wilts, now plans to tear down the crumbling building and replace it with a modern one within six months.

The new building would have solar panels, a classroom and flushing toilets — but she needs up to £30,000 more. Amy — who raised the cash through fund-raising balls, charity auctions and face-painting — will now do a sponsored climb of Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro.

She said: “We need just a little more to start building. I can’t wait to get back there — the experience has changed my life.

Lucy Lema, 54, who has worked at the orphanage for 23 years, said: “Amy’s fund-raising will make a huge difference. We will be able to give the children the home they deserve.”

TO donate, visit www.wearecollecting.co.uk.

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