23/03/2010 - Freed UK raises funds for water in Ghana

African dancers, ska musicians and VIP auction prizes helped to raise more than £2000 at a charity fundraiser in Northampton on Saturday night (March 6).

The FREED UK event held at The Picturedrome attracted more than 150 people who came to support the Ghanaian charity.

Ska band the Skatoons, and vocalist Sarah Hepworth provided the lyrical entertainment whilst Kyreme Arts gave a colourful dancing and drumming display.

Organiser and FREED UK member Lily Canter said: “We were really impressed with the turn out and had so much support from the local community. We raised almost £1,000 through the raffle and auction alone. It was a great night and everyone had lots of fun whilst raising money for a worthy cause. This will really make a huge difference to our project.”

The money was raised to construct a bore hole in Nandom, situated in the upper west region of Ghana. The water supply will be used to irrigate a farm, which will supply Nandom Hospital with food.

Chronicle & Echo readers helped to raise £7,000 for the hospital kitchen in 2007 to enable malnourished patients to eat properly. The second phase of FREED’s project is to make the kitchen sustainable and non-reliant on European subsidies, by developing a local farm to provide the hospital with crops.

A water supply is crucial for the success of the scheme due to high levels of drought in the area.

FREED UK would like to thank the following companies for supporting the charity auction: Royal & Derngate, Townshend Clinic, Wootton Fields Therapy Centre, Northampton Town Football Club, the Saints, Northamptonshire County Cricket Club, The Art of Wood, Jason William reflexology, Silverstone Circuit, The Church restaurant.

FREED UK is a charity linked to Northampton General Hospital and more information can be found at www.freeduk.org