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Hundreds of children in Zambia are being supported by a new charity based in Shropshire. Michael Innes and Roger Newey will be presenting a flavour of their recent visit to Fiwila at the Trinity Centre in Meole Brace at 7.30pm on 21 March.

New dormitory under construction

The Shropshire Fiwila Partnership (SFP) was set up in 2008 to develop links with Fiwila, an isolated rural community in Africa.

The charity is building a new dormitory for boys who go to school in Fiwila.

In 2009 trustees also agreed a bursary scheme in Fiwila, funding secondary education for up to 75 young people every year.Μύ

Michael Innes, chair of SFP's trustees, travelled to Fiwila in February 2009. He was excited to see progress on the new dormitory: "Boys have to walk up to 12 hours to get to school so inevitably they don't come, or lodge locally, and at the moment they're living in very run-down huts."ΜύΜύ

Nine boys currently sleep in this dormitory

Dr Innes, a GP in Telford, said the new dormitory will cost around Β£30,000, it will house 48 boys, and should be finished by the end of 2009.

It will use energy-saving technology and is being built through Build IT International, another charity based in Shrewsbury.

"hope for the future"

The bursary scheme has been named in memory of Pat Wedge, a teacher at Shrewsbury High School for Girls, who left a legacy to fund education in Africa.

Trustee Roger Newey also travelled to Fiwila in 2009: "Thanks to Pat's generosity, generations of young people will have hope for the future through education."

Dr Innes explained that many of the bursaries will support orphans who have lost one or both parents.

"If you lose your father the family loses its income, and so the mother is as much orphaned as the children. School fees cost money - not a lot - but more than they have."

Children in the district of Fiwila

The bursaries, costing Β£120 a year per student, will pay for food, clothing and education. Dr Innes said it was a real partnership between Fiwila and Shropshire: "It's not a case of us telling them what will happen, but them presenting what they need."

Dr Innes also lectures on international health at the University of Birmingham. He has a deep affection for Africa, having run a mission hospital in Zimbabwe from 1992-94: "It fired me to continue my commitment to communities in Africa."

Dr Innes, a volunteer with the Shropshire Fiwila Partnership, said its priorities were to continue fundraising, planning for the future and to run current projects.

"incredibly generous and inclusive society"

The Fiwila community grew up around an Anglican mission established in 1924. According to Dr Innes, the school and clinic now serve a population of around 10,000 people and the high school is one of only four in a district twice the size of Shropshire.

Dr Innes said Shropshire's links with Fiwila began when the Shropshire based charity, Harvest Help (now Self Help Africa) started working in Zambia.

An average annual income in Zambia is a few hundred pounds and, according to Dr Innes, a family could include six children and other dependents like grandparents, uncles and nephews.

"It's an incredibly generous and inclusive society. If someone had a bowl of food and someone else needed some - they would share - even if that meant they would go hungry.

"It puts into stark relief our own compartmentalisation of concern and charity," he added.