" A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal."

One of the greatest parts of my job while travelling as extensively as I do, is connecting with people from all over the world, hearing their stories and sharing moments. On a recent trip to Conakry in Guinea (West Africa) I was startled by the level of poverty that lay before my eyes. I had seen it before in different regions of Africa and India, but nothing as bad as what lay in front of me.

I visited a small orphanage in the heart of Conakry (capital city) and spent the day getting to know the 26 children that lived inside. The love, kindness, respect, charm and warmth they showed me while giving me a tour of their small home, had an overwhelming impact until today. They have no beds, only mattresses which they drag out onto the floor each evening. No sofa's, tables or chairs. They have limited donations of clothes, food and second hand toys from people that have stopped by to donate.

In a day where in the western world I see children with 2 ipads, numerous consoles, games and phones but still do not look happy. It shocked me how joyful the children were with such simple things like singing, dancing and one ball shared between all. The orphanage was handed down from a Mother that passed, and is now run by 3 brothers and their wives. While the ladies spend their days and nights with the children the brothers work long shifts in jobs and let their wages pay for the orphans to go to school, for food, electric bills and rent.

I have visited a couple of times now. While donations are a great way to help out its so hard to rely on them as they never know how often the help will come.

I want to ask for help to raise just enough money to buy an oven for the Orphanage. They plan to then bake, make cakes and sweet treats which can then be sold in the local village so they can raise some money themselves while giving the children a fun activity around school time.

Just a small donation will help and it is appreciated more than you will ever imagine. When giving to larger charities or organisations its hard to see exactly where you have helped. I will be buying and donating the oven first hand and will keep you all up to date. Thank you for your time and patience reading this and thank you in advance for any donations.