Jamie and I are raising money to buy equipment for hospitals in South Sudan. I will kitesurf over 60km starting and finishing at Sandbanks beach. Jamie will swim over 10km in open water across Poole Bay. They are both huge challenges, but then we have set ourselves a huge fundraising target!

The whole of South Sudan has only 3 Ophthalmology Consultants serving a population of over 8 million. In Dorset we have about 1 consultant per 27,000 people.

I visited Wau hospital in April 2012 with the Poole Africa Link. The eye department has only re-opened in the last 5 months since the long war with the north with very basic facilities. The only Ophthalmologist has little support and resources to carry out effective work. Preventable and treatable blinding disease is very common in South Sudan, and I saw many people including babies and children needlessly blind during my visit. Improvements in the department could directly improve the life chances of these people.

I also visited Juba eye department, which is a model of what can be achieved. Quality surgery is carried out and new surgeons trained for future work in other hospitals. Wau eye department can develop into a similar effective unit, but it needs resources and re-furbishment. There are major problems with the available surgical microscopes in both units. In Juba, there is no 'teaching arm' making training extremely difficult. In Wau, there is no focus facility, and I have directly experienced the problems this causes. The Consultants have asked me to help by funding replacments. I hope to supply Juba with a modern teaching surgical microscope and to transfer Juba's current one to Wau. I have also been asked to provide a surgical instrument steriliser for Wau, and I hope you willl join me in rasing the funds needed.

Poole Africa Link is well established and provides an excellent way to send resources directly to the Wau hospital rather than through any third party. Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - We raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.