I WOULD like to thank the many people in the Ramsey and Huntingdon area who have made donations to our charity (www.ugive2 uganda.com) as we continue to support the people in and around the town of Mbale in Uganda. Through their help we have been able to

I WOULD like to thank the many people in the Ramsey and Huntingdon area who have made donations to our charity (www.ugive2 uganda.com) as we continue to support the people in and around the town of Mbale in Uganda.

Through their help we have been able to establish the first brass band in Uganda and have already raised £3,000 towards the total of £5,000 needed to drill a borehole for clean water in a local village.

The funds given to the brass band have allowed us to supply 20 old musical instruments to the children in the band, as well as purchase a second-hand bus to enable the band to travel to engagements. They are unbelievably enthusiastic and proud of their achievement.

Short-term aid has also been provided by way of medicine, tools and mosquito nets to hundreds of people in the villages surrounding Mbale. More importantly, we are well on the way to drilling a deep well in the village of Buyobo to provide clean, fresh water for more than 1,000 people who currently have to drink from a nearby river, along with their livestock.

In addition to all this, I need to say a special thank you to all those compassionate people who have decided to sponsor a child in this part of Africa. Every penny raised has been carefully spent to make a real difference to people's lives.

The children in this part of the world have the same hopes and dreams as the rest of us here in the UK. They are separated from us only by culture and distance.

PHILIP MONK, Benwick Rd, Ramsey Forty Foot