£14K goes a long way

The annual Sudan Fete on 2nd June at South Canonry, Salisbury boosted the coffers by £12,609.03.

Monies were raised by a stalwart team of volunteers who annually invade the Bishop's garden with bric-a-brac, plants, games, produce, and other good things to sell. A pair of camels never fail to to provide some of the fun and spectacle associated with this event.

The Garden Fete was topped up by Shaftesbury's wonderful scheme of 'Attic Clearance' sales that go on during the year. The Friends of Salisbury Cathedral's Gardens Open Day Teas event was also held in the South Canonry garden, raising another £1,659.00 for The Sudan Medical Link.

The total was £14,268.03.

Organiser Irving Samwell says:

"It is always a challenge to think of new ways to encourage people to give. Different attractions and stalls, bigger, better cakes!

"The best way for those who do not live near enough to Salisbury to comfortably feel part of these fund raising efforts in person is to support The Grand Raffle. There are usually about 15 really good prizes, the first being a cash prize.

"If anyone is prepared to help sell tickets to their local contacts, this could bring in vital contributions from the Diocese to add to the funds that are so important for the lives of those who live in South Sudan.

"Next year's Fete will be on 7th June 2020... a date not to be missed!"

Our Medical Link supplies basic medicines and clinical equipment direct, from bandages and disinfectant to anti-malarial drugs. It trains local people as medical workers, including training midwives in South Sudan, where one woman in seven dies in childbirth, more than anywhere else on the planet. Every trained midwife saves scores of lives throughout her career.

The Medical Link was set up 34 years ago when the then Bishop of Salisbury, John Baker, and his wife Gill were on a visit to South Sudan and saw war victims being treated with even basic medicines absent. Since then, many local people have built up special friendships with people in the Sudans.