A TAVISTOCK doctor left British shores recently to carry out voluntary work in a remote hospital in East Africa — following in the footsteps of the Scottish missionary and explorer Dr David Livingstone.

Dr Duncan Gibbs, a former senior partner in the Stannary Surgery, is working in the Livingstonia Mission in Malawi — one of the most famous mission stations in Africa.

He is no stranger to the country having first visited Malawi more than 30 years ago when travelling through the continent.

The mission was founded in 1877 by Dr Livingstone and was moved to its present site by Dr Robert Laws in 1884.

The decision to move to higher ground and a healthier climate above the lakeshore was taken because early mission families were wiped out by malaria — their lakeside graves are a testimony to their sacrifice.

Dr Gibbs is working at a 60-bed hospital with limited facilities and suffers a constant threat of power cuts.

'I am looking forward to it,' he said before leaving. 'I have been told I shall need to take a good torch.'

The road from the mission station to the former slave trading centre at Karonga on the shore of Lake Malawi, is notoriously hair-raising and suitable for four-drive vehicles only.

His tickets — a contribution from the Rotary Doctor Bank Scheme — were presented to him by president of Tavistock Rotary Club Frank Lawrence.

'In western countries there is, on average, one doctor for 600 people,' said Mr Lawrence. 'In developing countries, it may be one for every 25,000. Doctors are like gold dust.'

The Tavistock club already has links with Malawi. It has previously donated money towards mending artificial limbs for disabled patients. It has also been engaged in corrective surgery with disabled polio victims and general orthopaedic surgery.

The club has contributed to the Polio Plus campaign in an effort to eradicate the disease worldwide, one of the club's members having been a member of the Limbe Rotary Club in Malawi when the programme was in full swing.

There is currently one other doctor working in the country as part of the Rotary Doctor Bank Scheme.