Bailiff's fund is set to reach half-million mark

THE Bailiff's disaster fund should soon reach the '500,000 mark. Sir de Vic Carey confirmed yesterday that the official figure was '497,800.

'It's superb. It looks as if we are going to make it through to half-a-million pounds, which is tremendous for the island,' he said.

'There is still a lot of goodwill and I will make a statement in the course of next week concerning the future direction of funds that are collected.'

Islanders have also contributed more than '22,000 to Oxfam's tsunami appeal, helping the UK charity raise the '70m. it needed for the victims of last month's disaster.

Pam Holdsworth, manageress of the Smith Street shop, was delighted with Guernsey's unprecedented generosity, which made the appeal the most popular she has seen since she started running the charity's store four years ago.

'We asked people to give and they did just that,' she said.

'The response has been phenomenal. People are constantly being asked to help but they still raise it so well. It's very heart-warming.'

She added that Guernsey had helped the charity mount a swift response to save thousands of lives. Oxfam is already helping 300,000 people in the disaster-struck region and plans are in place to reach a further 600,000.

Although it now has funds to begin rebuilding devastated communities, it is urging people to keep donating money to areas that have been overlooked following the tsunami.

'Obviously we do still need more money for the work we are doing elsewhere,' said Mrs Holdsworth. 'The Sudan has taken a bit of a back seat in people's minds but just recently we opened a camp for another 15,000 people there. It all takes time, money and expertise.'

Anne-Marie Richardson, Bailiwick director of the British Red Cross, said the total paid into the Bailiff's fund from the Rohais shop was at last count more than '40,000.

'It's amazing, absolutely superb. It's been overwhelming and the Disasters Emergency Committee fund is still going.

'Guernsey has done very well ' the people are very generous.'

She reminded people that the charity was still raising money for people affected by the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

'We must keep in mind the tsunami appeal, but we must also be aware of the other disasters going on in the world at the moment.'

The Rotary Club of Guernsey has raised an astonishing '78,000 for its Aquabox appeal. A delighted senior vice-president, Colin Pickard, said that it had allowed the Guernsey group to pay for and arrange the dispatch of 310 Aquaboxes, many funded by local schools' cake sales and sponsored events.

'Each box contains sufficient filters and tablets to purify 33,000 litres of water. It's going to go a long way and I think the scale of the need is shown by the fact that Aquabox advised us only last week that in under four weeks they had distributed the number of boxes they normally supply in a full year.'

The Aid Reaching Children charity has raised '47,000 for humanitarian and aid projects in Sri Lanka. Arc director Linda Garnham said that it would go towards an orphanage in the country. She was delighted with people's support.

'It's brilliant and the more we can get, the better.'

Many charities and businesses have contributed through fund-raising raffles, mufti days and special events. Earlier this week Specsavers announced that staff and customers in Guernsey and throughout the UK had generated more than '300,000 following a company promise to match pound for pound any money raised. Some of the collection has also gone to the Mines Awareness Trust to clear explosives swept by the tsunami into previously cleared areas.