Denise shines a light on Zimbabwe’s abandoned children

A lecturer from the University of Northampton is appealing for people to help those abandoned by society in one of the world’s poorest countries.

Denise Creisson, Project Management Lecturer within the Faculty of Business & Law, has just returned from a trip to Zimbabwe was part of her charity work with Rotary Club of Milton Keynes.

The club is a supporter of a clinic, a school, an orphanage and an institute for adults with severe learning difficulties in Marondera, 40 miles from the capital Harare.

“Having not visited Zimbabwe since 2001, I had heard about some of the problems but was devastated to see just how bad things were for some people,” said Denise.

“With a spiralling fiscal deficit and banks unable to function normally, there is inadequate foreign exchange for imports, which is daunting when 80 per cent of the food needs are imported and unemployment is reported at 95 per cent.

“A third of the country’s children are orphans and an estimated one million children go to school hungry.

“I visited two orphanages and a school for adults with learning abilities and I am humbled by the dedication of those striving to help those that are abandoned by their societies, despite having so little themselves.”

Denise is encouraging people to help support the Rotary Club so it can continue its international relief work – a previous fundraising drive paid for a borehole to be installed at Musha Wevana Orphanage, with the fresh water supply leading to the creation of a vegetable garden which has fed the children for the past four years.

The latest project is to pay for a borehole to supply water to a school and maternity clinic.

Denise said: “Anyone can make a difference, sometimes I look at the tasks at hand and think, this is just impossible, but always remind myself of a quote by US author Napoleon Hill – ‘If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way’.”

You can support the Rotary Club by attending a black tie fundraiser for the Marondera Water Project, on 18 November at the Hilton in Milton Keynes. Tickets cost £30 for an evening of dinner, dance and an auction.

For tickets, and to find out how you can support the club’s fundraising efforts by emailing denise.creisson@northamption.ac.uk.