Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I am visiting Zimbabwe in April 2013 to complete the mission that I started in 2009 when I cycled through the country dressed as a clown - see www.funzimride.co.uk.

ZANE is an excellent charity run by a team of dedicated volunteers in Zimbabwe and a tiny support office in the UK.  Originally set up to assist the thousands of frail elderly whites trapped in poverty due to the hyperinflation after 2000, they also run important medical projects for impoverished black communities including helping AIDS orphans.  They have just merged with Homes In Zimbabwe which supports old peoples homes there.  

And if you thought some of our UK care homes struggle, you should consider the situation in Zimbabwe where the country's infrastructure almost collapsed in 2009 with rampant cholera & political violence.  Things have been improving slighly since then but 2013 will be another difficult year: a referendum and elections are bound to lead to more political intimidation.

This page is in memory of Betty Coleman who was born and died in Bulawayo but lived in the UK for most of the racist Ian Smith years.  She designed the costumes for Thunderbirds and was a remarkable lady like her mother whose story she wrote.  (Her mother toured productions of Shakespeare around Rhodesia in the '50's for mixed audiences and was a pacifist in England in the first world war.)

Betty and her friend Rosamund Bryan befriended my mother when she needed it.  They were a source of much amusement during my teens in Maidenhead when we would visit for tea or go on Real Ale trips with them.  They had a sharp English wit.  And when I first visited Zim in 1987, they gave me a memorable visit to the Matopos National Park seeing the giraffes & baboons from their little Mini.

ZANE helped me reconnect with Betty in 2009.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

(Please note that offline donations of $600 were raised at my party on 16 Feb for two other local charities in Zimbabwe who wish to remain anonymous for reasons of safety given the rising political tensions this year.)