A VOLUNTEER will raise money for a lifesaving medical centre in Bangladesh.

Former physiotherapist Jean Ward, of Oxford Road, Manningtree, first visited the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed after she retired 16 years ago.

The centre was founded in 1979 by physiotherapist Valerie Taylor after she was appalled by the conditions she found the paralysed living in.

She started treating patients out of a shed in the capital, Dhaka.

Miss Ward was so affected on her first visit she volunteered nine more times at the centre’s children unit.

She said: “When I retired I had time to do it. I worked overseas quite a lot during my career, including Japan. At the beginning of my time at the centre I was treating the children and helping the mothers learn how to hold their child and how best to care for them – often for three months at a time.

“When the unit was more established I only went for clinical supervision and informal talks, helping the families and the students.”

Spinal injuries are common in Bangladesh, with people falling off bamboo scaffolding, traffic accidents due to poor roads and slipping in mud while carrying heavy loads.

Miss Ward said: “In the early days in the children’s unit, equipment was made from plastic bottles, clothes pegs buckets – washing up bowls were adapted for seating.

“We filled bean bags with lentils, realising our mistake when, during the humid monsoon, they started to sprout. We started again, using little beads.”

The centre now incorporates a 100-bed spinal injury unit, a stroke centre, paediatric unit, medical and vocational training facilities, together with theatres, X-ray and haematology departments.

However, the centre’s only income is from donations and grants, and Miss Ward hopes a fundraising evening in Manningtree will help the centre expand.

The event is at the Red Lion, in South Street, on Tuesday, October 13, at 7.30pm.

It includes Bangladeshi food, a short film about the centre and a raffle, with a portion of the money raised going specifically to the children’s unit. Tickets, priced £15, can be booked by calling the Red Lion on 01206 391880.