A FUND-RAISER from Worle has returned from a mission to help widows and orphans in Rwanda.

A FUND-RAISER from Worle has returned from a mission to help widows and orphans in Rwanda.

Janet Brown, who lives in Cornwallis Avenue, flew out with several other volunteers to stay with her friend Edith Mukamazimpaka in Honika in the south of the country. While there she and Jon Brown, Pete Muir, Kelvin Smith and Canon David Dale helped establish a training centre for disadvantaged people.

Janet first travelled to Rwanda when she was 21. She met Edith and went on to volunteer as a teacher for two years at a boarding school before becoming the head at a girls’ domestic science school.

Since the 1994 genocide, Janet and husband David, have been sending money to help Edith and the orphans she takes in.

The volunteers took over some jumpers and dresses made by St Mark’s Church member Dorothy Gigg, aged 80, and scarves for female victims of Aids, donated by Weston residents.

On her first night in Honika Janet met orphan Grace, who had a leg amputated due to a medical error.

Janet said: “For years she had walked on crutches because she has no money for a false leg. I was able to give her the £150 she needed.

“During our visit we were also able to fund a cleft lip operation for a 12-year-old boy, a new roof for a home where some orphans live and whose parents had been killed in the genocide, and money for a widow who cares for five orphans with £15 a month.

“The Rwandan people work hard to solve their problems but they are hindered by a lack of money.”

If anyone who would like to give some support to the cause and make a donation, or if a group would like Janet to give a talk on the charity, they can call her on 01934 514255.