A charity event is being held in Peasedown St John this Saturday to help raise funds for some of the world’s most needy children.

FOCUSAM, a brand new charity centred on tackling Severe Acute Malnutrition in developing countries, hopes to raise tens of thousands of pounds in aid.

Adalaide Davis, from Peasedown St John, is the organisation’s founder and chair of trustees. She said: “Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), which is fatal, affects an estimated 19 million children around the world. Each year, despite efforts from a global network of NGOs working with the World Health Organisation, only 3.2 million children receive treatment.”

Ready to use therapeutic food (RUTF) has been used over the past ten years in developing countries, as a community-based treatment of SAM. RUTF is a therapeutic feeding programme of energy dense, micro-nutrient enhanced paste.

RUTF has shown to be a successful treatment. However, barriers still remain for this treatment to reach the millions of children who are currently wasting away.

“When shipping RUTF is not possible, as is the case with Yemen, we will provide funding to create food baskets, bought from local markets and distributed to those in need. The latest statistics from UNICEF (Dec 2016) suggest that nearly half of all deaths in children under the age of five, are from under-nutrition related infections.”

The charity has already established links with two organisations in Yemen, where up to 5,500 families will be the recipients of the first fundraising appeal.

Both the Wujoh Foundation and Human Needs Development will create and distribute food baskets across the country, to those families who have yet to receive any humanitarian aid. Both have agreed to partner with the new Peasedown-based charity to provide baskets containing sugar, rice, flour, oil, dates and salt.

Adalaide added: “Our event this Saturday is the first of many to raise funds for children who are unlikely to live past the age of two without our help.

“I’ll be shaving off my 16 inches of hair, which will also be donated to the Princess Trust, who make wigs for children who have lost their hair, due to cancer. We’ll also have a cake sale, face painting, small business showcase, table-top sale, chest waxing, karaoke and the raffle.”

Prizes include a 7-night stay at an apartment in Lanzarote and a free MOT. The charity event will be held at the Waggon and Horses Inn, Peasedown St John on Saturday, 4th February from 3 p.m. For further details about FOCUSAM, visit: www.facebook.com/FOCUSonSAM

Joining Adalaide Davis as Charity Trustees are Nathan Hartley, B&NES Council’s former Deputy Leader turned political and business advisor, who now runs a national Communications Consultancy; and disability rights campaigner and published author, Helen Sims.

Anyone unable to attend the event on Saturday, but who would like to support the appeal, can visit: https://www.youcaring.com/globalsevereacutemalnutrition-734080