Robert Buckland Weblog

Local elections and life has got in the way, but I promised to mention a very worthwhile HIV/Aids charity set up by Jeremy Hunt, MP for South-West Surrey. Jeremy visited North Swindon Library at the end of February and spoke about the work of the Hotcourses Foundation, which helps to fund education courses for young people in Kenya and Uganda who have been orphaned by the curse of Aids. I post a link to the charity website here: http://www.hotcourses.com/foundation/

Att the same meeting was an exhibition of memorable photographs taken by Swindon photographer Chris Lowthian for the Born Free Foundation, which as the title suggests is an international wildlife charity now run by Will Travers, who is the son of Bill Travers and Virginia MacKenna, who of course played George and Joy Adamson in the well-loved film of the same name. I haven’t been to the area of Northern Kenya where Elsa and her friends and relations lived, but having visited other parts of that wonderful country, the idea that noble animals such as the lion are better off in zoos seems rather ridiculous in my eyes. Visit their website at http://www.bornfree.org.uk/

Finally, we also heard from Cricklade-based charity Lights For Learning, which works to install solar powered lighting in schools, hospitals and homes in Kenya. The enthusiasm of members was infectious – another example of individual initative resulting in project-based practical help that is of immediate benefit. Their website is at http://www.lightsforlearning.org/