A few hours ago I received a phone call from South Africa informing me that sadly one of our charity's children, Christopher, had passed away. This is not only a great personal loss but is also in my opinion a great loss to the world! If you have time to read it, I have written a little passage about Chris bellow:

We first heard about Chris through an article in a local newspaper that informed us about a boy with a skin condition so severe that he was badly bullied at school and nicknamed 'lizard boy' by his classmates. We were also later to discover that his father had wanted to end his life because of the way he looked! In the end he was thrown out of his school because his teachers believed his condition to be contagious, and his father abandoned him. We immeadiately answered the newspapers appeal and agreed to meet with this little boy. When we met him we realised how special he was and how desperate he was to live the life of a normal 10 year old boy.

Before long we organised Chris to meet with a skin specialist who diagnosed him with severe exma and sorted him out with the necessary treatments to help him deal with his condition. We also found him a school which could cater for his condition and help him catch up with his education.

Soon after Christopher has started at his new school I was fortunate enough to be able to visit him to find out how he had settled in. I was amazed at what I saw. This little boy had become one of the most popular pupils in the school! When he proudly showed me around the school grounds it was pretty clear that he had finally got what he had craved for so long, acceptance. I was so moved by the determination of this child to suceed dispite all of the obsticles that had been put in his way. Sadly just before I left South Africa to fly home, we were informed that Christopher's mother has passed away. Despite this major setback, Chris continued to attend school and continued to care for his younger sister. He determination to suceed is truely an example to us all of how we should live our own lives.

From what I understand, before he died Christopher was living the life of a relatively normal happy young teenager. A life that his late mother had long dreamed that he would live.

Christopher truely is an example to us all and a great loss to the world! We will miss you Chris!

I am collecting money to send out to his family to help them pay for the funeral so anything you can spare would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for your support!