THANKS to the generosity of people in the Tavistock area, under-privileged children in Sierra Leone can look forward to the New Year with a few extras in the coming months.
Tony Sherlock was so touched by the sights he saw this summer at the Milton Margai School for the Blind in Freetown that he decided to do something to help.
Tony, who lives in Tavistock, was the supplies officer with the RFA Sir Geraint, the accommodation ship on duty with the force protection unit in Sierra Leone earlier this year.
He said the equipment and facilities at the school, and at the orphanage in Freetown, were pitifully limited.
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Tony said: ?When it came to the withdrawal from Sierra Leone, we were the last unit to depart. I had a tremendous amount of stores I was able to give them, with permission from the MOD.
?I supplied 60 mattresses to the orphanage ? those poor children had never even slept on a mattress before.
?I also gave 60 mattresses to the blind school. The last change of mattress they?d had was in 1994, so you imagine how threadbare they were.?
Tony was also able to give the school and orphanage sheets, rations and necessities like knives and forks.
And he asked the school for the blind if there was any other equipment they could use.
?They said they needed typewriters,? said Tony.
On his return to the UK he contacted primary schools in the area, asking for donations of old manual typewriters. He also appealed to congregations at churches in Tavistock and Mary Tavy and to contacts with St Luke?s Hospice in Plymouth.
?I?ve been able to
acquire 84 typewriters to date. I thought if I got a dozen I?d be happy, but it really has snowballed,? said a delighted Tony, who is now waiting to find out how he can ship the typewriters out to Sierra Leone, either through the UN or the international development department.
?Everyone?s been so spontaneous, it?s been brilliant ? I really can?t thank people enough,? said Tony, who added he was extremely grateful to his mother-in-law for storing the typewriters in her garage!
And to round off the success of Tony?s appeal for typewriters, St Eustachius Church has sponsored the purchase of £58 worth of typewriter ribbons ? an offer which Tony described as ?gracious and generous?.