The husband and wife were part of a 13-man scooter-riding team looking to raise money for a hospital in The Gambia.
By Natasha Adkins, Robert Edwards, Jasmine Marsh & George Pavlou
A husband and wife team from Merton have returned from their scooter adventure between the UK and Africa raising money for a hospital in The Gambia.
Police officer, Gordon and retired wife Belinda Sinclair were part of a 13-man scooter-riding team looking to raise £5000 for the Bansang Hospital Appeal.
They rode their Honda C90 scooters 4000 miles through the UK, Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritiana, Senegal and The Gambia.
The money raised by the scooter-riders provided 4 bulls, fertiliser, 2 seeders and 2 weeders and the scooters will also be donated to the hospital for use by the staff.
“We raised far in excess of what was needed. There was a community centre that needed walls, because the animals kept wandering in. It turns out we had the funds for that, too!”
The hospital appeal is currently raising £45,000 for a new general surgery however the immediate need was for oxen to plough fields nearby providing food for the patients.
“The village chief who had donated the land was there. He was 7ft tall and spoke no English, but he was almost crying,” Gordon said.
The average life expectancy in The Gambia is 53 and a third of the population live below the international poverty line.
Gordon said: “I was really struck by how happy people were, despite all the poverty, they seemed to just get on with it. Children would come up and hold your hand, ask you your name.
“It was certainly very different to Merton!”
Anita Smith, Bansang Hospital Appeal founder, speaking on scootersinthesahara.co.uk, said: “Ever since 1992 I have always wished that I could dramatically improve the conditions for the infants and children on the wards at the hospital.”
Belinda is off on another fund-raising scooter ride to Mongolia while Gordon will settle back down to everyday life.
“I am already missing being on the road. I will definitely be doing more in the future.”
To donate to the appeal visit www.scootersinthesahara.co.uk or http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/scoots2012.
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