A Horndon-on-the-Hill man is spearheading a move to forge links with one of the poorest countries in the world.

Andrew Sentance is organising a meeting to encourage his church to improve relations with the famine-hit regions of Zambia.

St Cedd's Church in Crammavill Street, Grays, is throwing its support behind Harvest Help.

Harvest Help is a development charity formed in the mid-1980s to help farming communities in Africa to become more self-sufficient.

While other churches are staging harvest festivals, St Cedd's will be staging a meeting next Thursday where the guest speaker will Alexander Kasenzi, project co-ordinator of Harvest Help Zambia, who will highlight the problems the country is facing.

Instead of focusing on emergency relief, Harvest Help aims to help farming communities to grow their own food more efficiently and reach new markets with their produce.

Andrew Sentance, who is also a member of Harvest Help, said: "In Africa a good harvest can mean the difference between life and death, between sickness and health.

"Harvest Help offers practical assistance to African farmers to produce better farming methods.

"Africa may seem a long way away to the people of Thurrock but I hope this meeting will raise awareness of the problems of Zambia and forge stronger links between our community and theirs."

The meeting, which starts at 7.30pm, is open to all and refreshments are available.

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