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| The centre in Tambala |
A WEST Wiltshire village will be getting a taste of Africa after raising thousands of pounds for AIDS orphans in Malawi.
The Jubilee Hall in Bratton is hosting a fun-packed African themed evening on Saturday featuring quizzes, singing, video clips of life in Malawi and even African food.
The event has been organised as a way of thanking the people of Bratton for supporting children in the country blighted by poverty, natural disasters and HIV-AIDS.
Members of Bratton Community Church have funded a network centre in the south east African country, which will help feed, educate and support up to 400 children whose lives have been shattered by the AIDS epidemic.
Villagers and local businesses also packed a lorry last September with equipment, including computers, books, furniture and tools to kit out the centre, which has been built by the charity, Friends of Mulanje Orphans (FOMO) in the village of Tambala.
Steve Desport, 53, who is a member of Bratton Community Church, said: "It's been amazing how it has all unfolded and that we have been able to help in this way.
"From the start we felt we were being guided into talking to the right people to help these children, but the support not only from the church in Bratton, but also from other people and businesses in the village and west Wiltshire, has been fantastic. It's amazing how the Great British public respond when they see a specific need."
Mr Desport, along with fellow church members Trevor Pictor and Neil Griffiths, went to Tambala in late 2005 and the trio were so moved by the plight of many children in the area, they decided to help, and got involved with FOMO, which provides assistance to orphaned children, many of whom have lost their parents to AIDS.
The Tambala centre will ensure the youngsters get four good meals a week and will have pre-school education in a country where there is no pre-school provision, and only those who can pay for it receive a secondary education.
Mr Desport said: "The kids in Malawi are amazing, they are very giving and loving, and don't seem to complain or ask for anything.
"This centre is all about helping them help themselves."
As well as being a celebration, the get-together at the Jubilee Hall, which starts at 6.30pm, will be used to help make people aware of the continuing fundraising campaign, which is currently aiming to provide children in Malawi with mosquito nets.For more information on the work of FOMO visit www.fomo.co.uk
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