The Duncan Hospital in Bihar, India, is an independent charitable hospital that provides healthcare to millions of poor people in a very remote area of India and Nepal. It was founded in 1930 by an Edinburgh GP, Cecil Duncan, and continues to play a vital role for communities that have very little access to medical care.

The hospital is supported in the UK by the Duncan Hospital Charitable Trust, which helps fund things like buildings, equipment, staff training and community outreach work.

In 2025, I visited the Duncan Hospital with friend & charity trustee Professor Gordon Mackay. Nothing really prepared me for what I saw while spending time with the hospital Community Outreach Team. We visited rural villages where families are living in extreme poverty. In one village, children were surviving on whatever food they could find, including rats.

What affected me most was seeing how many children have no access to education at all. There are no schools nearby, and without help, these children have very little chance to change their situation.

This is why I am raising money for the Village Education Programme. This project brings basic teaching directly into villages, giving children the chance to learn. Even simple education can make a huge difference to their future.

Having seen the need for myself, I wanted to do something practical to help. I hope you might consider supporting this project and helping give these children a better chance in life.