A big thank you from a presentation today from the Surin Angels at Ellington School who provided 100 pencil cases, pens, pencils, rulers and Xmas gifts for their friends in the new Thai School in Surin province.

Last Xmas they also provided gifts which were gratefully received by the Thai villagers.

The girls in Ramsgate organised a fundraising day and have also raised £300 cash for the charity.

Headteacher Tony hamson said: "Ellington has taken this charity under its wing and it is an excellent community project that shows our girls it is pssible to make a difference for others, even those half way round the world in a tiny village".

Hereson School for Boys in Broadstairs has now also pledged its support for a school in Asia.

Future plans include a display on the project and a Thai cultural and heritage event for other Kent schools.

Stop TB says: "Our vision is a TB free world: The first children born this millennium will see TB eliminated in their lifetime"

Targets

By 2005: 70% of people with infectious tuberculosis will be diagnosed, and 85% cured
By 2010: The global burden of tuberculosis disease (deaths and prevalence) will be reduced by 50% (compared with 2000 levels)
By 2050: The global incidence of tuberculosis disease will be less than 1 per million population

For more information, see www.stoptb.org

Tuberculosis facts

Tuberculosis kills 8000 people a day--that amounts to 2-3 million people each year.
Tuberculosis kills more people than either AIDS or malaria
Tuberculosis is the biggest killer of young people and adults in the world today
One third of the world's population is infected with tuberculosis
If you are sick with tuberculosis you are likely to infect another 10-15 people in just one year

Yesterday Oxfam warned that a million of Zimbabwe's 13 million population were at risk from the cholera epidemic, and predicted that the crisis would worsen significantly in December, when heavy rains start. "The government of Zimbabwe must acknowledge the extent of the crisis and take immediate steps to mobilise all available resources," said Charles Abani, the head of the agency's southern Africa team. "Delay is not an option."

The Zimbabwean Association of Doctors for Human Rights has accused the government of dramatically under- reporting the spread of the disease. Doctors and nurses – whose salaries can just buy a loaf of bread thanks to hyperinflation – tried to protest last week against the health crisis, but riot police moved in swiftly.

Doctor performs Congo amputation by text

His left arm had been ripped off, either in an accident or as a result of the fighting between Congolese and rebel troops, and was badly infected and gangrenous.

Mr Nott, 52 and a surgeon at Charing Cross Hospital, in west London, said: "He was dying. He had about two or three days to live when I saw him."

He knew that the teenager's only hope of survival was a forequarter amputation, a huge operation which requires the surgeon to remove the collar bone and shoulder blade.

He had never performed the operation but knew a colleague back in the UK who had. He said: "I texted him and he texted back step by step instructions on how to do it."

Mr Nott added: "Even then I had to think long and hard about whether it was right to leave a young boy with only one arm in the middle of this fighting.

"But in the end he would have died without it so I took a deep breath and followed the instructions to the letter. I knew exactly what my colleague meant because we have operated together many times."

Such an operation, if done in the UK, would require careful planning with every sort of modern medical product on hand if things went wrong. But in the Congo Mr Nott had just one pint of blood and an elementary operating theatre.

Despite the problems the operation was a success and the teenager made a full recovery.

Mr Nott said: "It was just luck that I was there and could do it. I don't think that someone that wasn't a vascular surgeon would have been able to deal with the large blood vessels involved.

"That is why I volunteer myself so often, I love being able to save someone's life."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7760088.stm

BBC article on the Zimbabwe cholera deaths: 500 which was the number of deaths that John Snow in Victorian London used to begin the eradication of cholera.

12,000 cases in cholera and undoubtedly higher with faked Government statistics to cover up for their jobs and international concern.

Cholera victims now heading for South Africa.

All of this can be cured. Soap. Clean water. Disinfectant. Portaloos. Simple vaccines. Water filtration kits. The contents of any High Street Boots in UK.

Simple literature or cassette players or mobile phones. Radios tuned to Radio Free Africa.

Zimbabwe has a population of only 10M. A little larger than London.

The BBC map shows 3 or 4 regions.

10 blue boxes. 3 Hercules flights from Joburg 2 hours away.

Drop them from the plane anyway.

Cost. £50,000? Maybe £100,000. Treble it and throw in some corruption fees. £500,000.

3 dead of cholera in South Africa already.

DFID has an admin budget of £250M to provided aid.

A wire transfer to Joburg takes 10 seconds.