A Denholme woman is appealing for help in raising funds to buy vital medical supplies for the treatment of Romanian youngsters with Aids.

Chris Thomas, 55, from Main Road, is encouraging as many people as possible to support a charity auction on May 19, at St Anne's Social Club in Keighley, which will raise cash for new medical equipment.

She will be returning to Romania on July 9 to take supplies to a hospital in the city of Targu Mures, where the children are treated.

For the past 10 years Chris, a parishioner at Our Lady of Lourdes RC Church in Haworth, has made an annual journey to the country with the charity group Jubilee Outreach Yorkshire (JOY).

She has been deeply moved by the scenes of youngsters who are HIV positive being treated with dirty swabs and re-used equipment.

She explains: "The nurses haven't got basic things like rubber gloves, ward shoes or uniforms, and they have to recycle swabs.

"We hope to provide them with uniforms and medical supplies because they are in desperately short supply."

"There are 90 kids who are registered HIV positive, but the hospital's ward can only take 40. The medical staff are incredibly caring, but they are working against impossible odds and I know that some of the children I saw last year will not be there when I return this summer."

An estimated 45 per cent of children in Europe who have Aids live in Romania - a result of the former Communist government's methods of treating sick youngsters.

Dr Kathy Tedd, of JOY, says: "Anaemic children were treated with blood injections instead of iron tablets and the blood was often taken from Russian soldiers, which is how the virus has been passed on in many cases.

"A large number of children also suffer from malnutrition, so conditions like cerebral palsy are becoming a real problem."

As well as visiting the hospital wards, Chris and her colleagues have toured gipsy camps to perform puppet shows for the youngsters and provide soup kitchens for hard-up communities. The charity group has also initiated a number of self-help community projects in the country and introduced district nurses to provide greater health back up, especially for mothers and babies.

Chris will be among the many people pledging a variety of services during the charity auction next Friday.

She adds: "Anything from two hours gardening to a night with an astronomer will be up for auction, and everyone is welcome to come along."

The social evening starts at 7.30pm and music will be provided courtesy of the Wild Rovers.

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