A NORTH-EAST soldier is making a difference to the lives of villagers who live near the Kenyan Equator.
Sergeant Robert Downie, from Darlington, and his team from the Irish Guards are helping the Royal Engineers to build a maternity hospital at Ontuliu, which is a few miles north of Mount Kenya.
There is very little medical care in the community and a very high birth rate. Deaths of newly-born children and their mothers are commonplace.
The dispensary in the village was built by the Gurkha Engineers in 1998 and now it is the turn of the Irish Guards to help out.
Sgt Downie said: "When we arrived at the village, we were told by the chief that the local church took ten years to build and nobody believed that a maternity hospital could be built in three months.
"Then when they began to see the bricks go up they couldn't believe it. The people here have nothing, and I mean nothing.
"This is a great experience for us all and makes us realise how very lucky we are."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article