Workers take final steps for Malawi mercy trip

A MERCY team set to help victims of a killer disease are set to receive life-protecting injections.

The group are being monitored by medics before flying from Glasgow to Malawi to build an Aids-testing clinic.

All nine workers have been inoculated against deadly diseases including typhoid and cholera.

The joiners, electricians, plumbers and decorators are employed by Glasgow firm City Building.

A spokesman said: "They are receiving all sorts of injections to protect them from malaria and other diseases and so far no one has suffered too bad a reaction.

"They are being monitored but all have reported for work fit and well."

They will jet out to the African republic to build a clinic in the village of Chikwawa where locals can be tested for HIV. The team will also help build an extension to a hospital.

Around 1.5million people are suffering from Aids in Malawi, which has only two doctors for every 100,000 people.

It is one of the five poorest countries in the world and doctors are having difficulty obtaining basic drugs and equipment.

The clinic will be a lifesaver. Early detection and treatment can save lives and HIV victims will be treated separately from other patients.

The builders have just 10 days to complete their task which normally would take 10 weeks.

They will also be working in extremely humid conditions and blistering temperatures that can reach 38C.

Making up the team are Graham Robb, Ian Allan, Scott McEwan, Martin Bredin, Alan Burns, Jacob Lee, John Lamb and Stuart Kennedy.