Calling all residents - can you help Ethan?

The urgent plight of three year-old Ethan from Ghana has become a local priority thanks to the passion and commitment of local GP, Dr David Williams, and his family. 

Dr Williams met Ethan last year when visiting his daughter who was volunteering in Ghana. Ethan was born with a severe abdominal defect, meaning many of his vital organs are outside of his stomach lining. Had he been born in the UK, this would have been resolved with an operation shortly after birth with no ongoing problems. Without the expertise or resources available in his home country, however, Ethan is now in urgent need of life-saving surgery.

Dr Williams was determined to find a way to help Ethan. Thanks to support from a charity called Willing and Abel, an Oxford-based surgeon has agreed to operate in the UK and Ethan and his father will stay with the Williams’ family while Ethan recovers from his operation. 

Surgery of this kind outside of the NHS is expensive and a lump sum of £25,000 plus travel costs is needed to allow the operation to go ahead. Willing and Abel have pledged £10,000 with the rest needing to come from donations. Local residents have already thrown themselves into various fundraising efforts and there are lots of ways you can support Ethan’s cause. A cake sale raised well in excess of £300, donations have been flooding in and many people have signed up to do activities to raise money.

Donation tins and information can be found at Shipston Medical Centre, Lloyds Bank as well as in some shops around the town. To donate online, visit www.virginmoneygiving.com/someonespecial/ethan 

Dr Williams is keen to hear from anyone who wants to run their own fundraising initiative – to share your ideas, please email davidcornercottage@gmail.com or to find out more about what’s already planned, visit https://www.facebook.com/ethansuglo25000 

Dr Williams said: “I see this as an opportunity for our community to help save the life of a little boy and the positive response from local residents has been overwhelming. Thanks to everyone’s generosity, we have already raised over £10,000 and the surgery is within our grasp. I’d like to thank everyone for their support.“

In the happy event that fundraising exceeds the target needed for Ethan’s surgery and aftercare, any remaining donations will be used by Willing and Abel to support other children in urgent need of help.