Trustee visits Africa to see work done by new charity
WHEN the late Dorothy Springer funded a disabled West African man's education in the UK, it sparked a chain of events which is still paying dividends today.
For when Abdulai Dumbuya discovered the identity of his benefactor following her death, he decided to set up a charity trust in her memory to help others in his native Sierra Leone.
Mrs Springer's daughter, Margaret Atkins, of Roman Way, Harborough, recently returned from a two-week visit to the country, during which she worked with Mr Dumbuya - known as Abs - to publicise the trust, which provides sponsorship to fund education programmes for disabled people.
Mrs Atkins said: "We wanted to make computers accessible to the disabled people of the country. They now have the chance to gain employment in the information and communication technology industry in Sierra Leone."
Crippled by polio as a five-year-old, Abs grew up in a home run by the Leonard Cheshire charity before travelling to England in 1992 to carry out community work.
However, unknown to Abs, Mrs Springer anonymously funded him to complete A-levels in Kettering and then a degree and doctorate at Loughborough University.
It was not until Mrs Springer passed away in 2003 that Abs found out about her kindness, which inspired him to set up the Dorothy Springer Trust.
Since then he has worked closely with Mrs Atkins, helping to deliver computers to disabled people living in Leonard Cheshire homes in Sierra Leone and now supporting disabled people in the country by providing access to IT training.
As part of Mrs Atkin's visit to Sierra Leone recently, she joined Abs in an appearance on a television news and chat show and took part in various radio shows, including the BBC World Service's 'Focus on Africa' programme.
They also met first lady Mrs Sia Koroma, wife of the president of Sierra Leone, who after listening to their story, agreed to present scholarship certificates to successful candidates for the sponsorship programme.
Twenty students completed the course, with three winning scholarships, and the charity is now looking to go further by setting up an employment agency to help the newly qualified people into jobs.
Mrs Atkins said: "We want to raise more money to get people jobs. If we can do that, then the charity will try and get people of expertise to help teach other skills."
For more information about the charity or if you are interested in forming a small fundraising group to help, visit www.dorothy-springer-trust.org.uk or contact Margaret Atkins on 01858 446369 or margaret.atkins@sky.com.
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Sunday 05 February 2012
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