A woman from Marlow is doing her bit to help Ebola orphans children in Sierra Leone.

Lori Spragg, who has done humanitarian work in the West African country for the last 11 years, usually organises a Christmas party for the children, where they receive items such as food, clothing, and school supplies whilst getting into the festive spirit.

READ MORE: Ebola orphans in Sierra Leone receive help from Marlow woman

However, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which has spread all over the world, modifications have been made to make the party Covid safe. 

This year, items will be shipped to Sierra Leone, with Lori hoping that the children involved will be able to enjoy Christmas in what was has been a turbulent 12 months.

And if the country is in lockdown next month, the Christmas food and presents will be delivered directly to the children's homes by the Build on Books team. 

Speaking to the Free Press, she said: “I am trying to raise funds to provide food, drink and gifts for our annual Christmas party to help the orphans whose parents died during the Ebola crisis.

“The key thing about these children is we raised money to try and save them.

Bucks Free Press:

Lori Spragg with just some of the donations

“Basically, their families had died, and they were left alone and were left to die.

“There was no provision for the children and none of the big-name charities were able to go into the quarantined houses to help them.

“These children were left in houses alone and when they did leave them, the people nearby shooed them away as they thought they had Ebola.

“So, what we did was, we had the head of the local villages tell us that whenever there were children alone, we were able to provide them with toys, food, bedding and drink until the Ebola crisis was over.

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“We also found foster parents for the children.

“These children’s parents died in November/December 2014, so when we did the food deliveries, we had one of the people dress up as Santa and we decked the tractor like a sleigh.

“We then took all the presents and food for Christmas Day which gave the kids a bit of hope.

“Every year since then, they’ve had a Christmas party where they can come together, see each other, have a nice time, and make them feel that they are not alone.”

If you would like to help Lori give the children in Sierra Leone a Christmas to remember, visit www.buildonbooks.com and click the Christmas page.

Build on Books is a charity that aims to help the children in the West African country, and since their formation in 2009, the foundation has managed to build more than 170 libraries in the country.