Seaton donor helps disability charity raise £20,000 in a week for African amputees

An anonymous Seaton donor has been instrumental in helping a charity hit its fundraising target after doubling all donations raised as part of a week-long campaign to increase its rehabilitation services for amputees in Northern Ghana.

Legs4Africa's 'Step into Christmas' campaign was designed to give hope to thousands of amputees in Ghana desperately in need of rehabilitation and peer support.

Raising £10,000 in just seven days, the generous Seaton donor has now doubled the charity's efforts to bring the total to £20,000 allowing the team to complete its mission of increasing mental health rehabilitation services for amputees in the remotest areas of Northern Ghana.

Tom Williams, founder of Legs4Africa, who works closely with NHS clinics and hospitals to collect unwanted prosthetic limbs to save them from going to landfill and matches them with amputees in Sub Saharan Africa, said: "We are so grateful to the kind generosity of our Seaton donor. Without their support, and all of the kind donations we have received, it would not be possible to continue our much needed support programs.

"Rehabilitation is a big part of supporting an amputee to come to terms with this new phase in their life and navigate the challenges they face. The 'Step into Christmas' campaign will now provide real hope to amputees in the remotest areas of Ghana, and we couldn't be more grateful to all of the kind donations that have now made that possible.

Around 1.7 million people in Africa are awaiting prosthetic limbs, which are almost impossible to locate outside of the Legs4Africa centres, with around 66% of amputees suffering from mental health issues due to limb loss in Western Africa.

Legs4Africa, which has saved thousands of unused prosthetics going to landfill, has helped thousands of individuals walk again while providing ongoing mental health and wellbeing support.

The £20,000 raised will now go to training and supporting up to four new workers who will help to support individuals facing limb loss in coming to terms with their situation and find positive support to rebuild their lives after surgery.

Started in 2013, the charity has shipped over 14,000 prosthetic legs to African clinics that would have otherwise ended up in landfill. They currently partner with local mobility centres across the UK and recycle high-quality prosthetic legs with minimal environmental impact.

By 2025 the charity hopes to increase the number of limb fitting centres it works with across Europe, Canada and the USA, to recycle unused and returned prosthetics.

Ambassadors for the charity include Paralympian Julie Rogers and TV presenter Alex Brooker.

For more information on the work Legs4Africa is doing to help change people's lives in Sub Saharan Africa or to donate unwanted prosthetic limbs to save them from landfill, please visit: www.legs4africa.org