Speaker John Thirlwell - The work of Save the Children in East Africa

John Thirlwell Producer / Director John trained as a journalist working on national newspapers. He moved to Leeds (1980) and trained as a TV reporter with BBC 'Look North'. He went on to cover stories for BBC News, ITV and Channel 4 nationally and internationally. Currently he runs independent production company Trading Pictures and is a long-term supporter of Save the Children (StC).

John told us that he has been supporting StC for over 12 years. It started when his wife (Pat) saw the effects of the wars in Africa on the children there and decided that she wanted to raise some money to help them. Pat and John organised a Garden Party at their house and raised £700 which was donated to StC. 5 months later Pat died of cancer and John decided that he would keep the party going in her memory. Today the event known as Pat's Party is held in Ben Rhydding, Ilkley and raises £10,000p.a.He now works voluntarily for the charity as a Save the Children Community Champion.  

He went on to tell us of a week long trip he undertook to Tanzania to understand better the work of the charity. He flew to Dar es Salaam with 2 other supporters (Pamela and June). On their arrival at the hotel they were told "Don't go out" - despite this they did and wandered into a bar about 100 meters away in an area of the city that was like a shanty town. John ordered a beer and the ladies ordered wine but the drinks were vile and made them feel ill so they headed back to the hotel only to find it locked up and they had to hammer on the door for some time before they were let in. The next morning in a meeting with many more people they were lectured on the importance of following instructions.

The next morning they flew to Mwanza and from there went to Shinyanga. The villages around here were made up of mud huts with straw roves. StC has a large organisation in the area made up mainly of locals but with 10 ex-pats to help manage projects. One project was to help set up a credit union to help with financing projects. They also concentrated on setting up School Councils run by the students as they had found that 10 to 15 year olds had more time and drive to change things for the future. Although their elders were interested they didn't have the time as they were too busy working just to exist whereas the youngsters still had the ambition to be things like doctors or engineers to change things for the better. That evening June decided to retire early after the excitement of the previous evening but quickly came running back out of her bedroom as there was a snake in her bath.

From Mwanza they then flew to the island of Zanzibar. There were some lovely parts here overlooking the Indian Ocean but also some very terrifying parts in the interior. Child abuse (sexual, slave labour anything you can think of) is endemic. StC is trying to set up systems to prioritise the children’s needs. For example in the past children had to face their abusers and give testimony in court in the same way that an adult might be expected to do. StC and a Swedish charity have set up a one stop shop where representatives from the local police, doctors and social services work together to help the children. If a child comes in on their own they find somewhere to house the child but if they are brought in by an adult they have to go back with them as space is so limited even if this puts them back with their abuser. That evening it was John's turn to embarrass himself - they were staying in a good hotel with a pool - John hadn't taken any trunks but was persuaded to go swimming in his boxer shorts except that he parted company with them as soon as he dived in the pool and they were stolen by the ladies.

The next morning they flew back to Dar es Salaam where they were shown a facility for premature babies. They were also shown a programme where StC had started providing a different type of sling so that mothers could carry their new born babies on their front rather than on their back. The babies were much more comfortable and infant mortality had plummeted.

John also told us a brief amount of his work as chairman of the Bronte Society.