JOYCE JACKSON will take £755 to buy medical equipment when she sets off from County Durham this summer to make her fourth visit to the village of Kilimatinde, in Tanzania, East Africa.

She has raised the cash, which will go towards a unit for eye and ear treatments, with the help of her friends, who mostly live near her home in Middleton in Teesdale near Barnard Castle.

A coffee morning raised £259, and the total was taken up to £455 by donations, some of which were made at slide shows, lunch club sessions and fellowship meetings.

The rest was raised by a friend in Crook, who organising book sales. Mrs Jackson, a retired teacher, has raised money for a school and hospital in the remote community and has helped fund a blood bank. That led to the setting up of a much-needed HIV unit.

She is making her next trip with two friends, Joan Lewington and Stephen Sandeman.

They have not been to Kilimatinde before and are looking forward to helping.

Mrs Jackson will also give small individual donations to poor families to help to buy school uniforms.

Some families with several children have only one uniform - they take it in turns at wearing it.

"Every £3 we give enables clothes to be bought for a child and allows them to go to school regularly," said Mrs Jackson.

"Donations given by Teesdale people are supporting three students over there to attend university.

"I'd like to tell everyone who has donated any money that it will soon be in the hands of Kilimatinde people.

"I'm grateful for all that has been given so far - the time, cakes, goods and coffee serving, as well as the money.

"Dale people have come up trumps again."