AN Addingham-based charity will continue to raise money for victims of the Boxing Day tsunami disaster in Sri Lanka to add to the £8,000 already donated to the cause.

Gordon Cooke braved treacherous jungle roads and heavily armed soldiers to travel to the remote village of Thirukovil in the weeks after the disaster to fulfil his lifelong pledge to repay a debt of honour.

Mr Cooke, 50, had vowed to return a kindness showed to him by two Sri Lankan passers-by who saved his life after a road accident in 1979. After the crash on the M1 motorway the holidaymakers gave Mr Cooke life-saving first aid until an ambulance arrived at the scene. Mr Cooke was unable to thank them personally but had always looked for a way to repay the debt he felt.

When Mr Cooke, of Bolton Road, visited Sri Lanka to see if he could help in the weeks after the tsunami, he was shocked to discover that the ongoing conflict with Tamil separatists meant that remote regions of the island did not get the aid they needed after the devastation caused by the floods.

Upon his return, he founded the charity www.bridge4hope.com and has just completed the first phase of a mammoth fundraising initiative with another visit to the devastated

village of Thirukovil where the charity spent 11 million rupees in 11 Days.

Among other things, the money was raised by selling badges and t-shirts featuring the children whose lives were so badly affected.

June saw the endorsement of the efforts by friend and top motoring correspondent Tiff Needell of Top Gear fame who provided signed photographs and t-shirts which were sold at some of the charity events.

In June more than £300 was achieved during a street collection in Ilkley, together with a

further £858 during a charity auction evening at Addingham Memorial Hall.

During his return trip to Sri Lanka, Mr Cooke was accompanied by fellow fundraisers Nick Hodgson, Harry Barrow and Ash Eckersley. They made the 6,000 mile trip to Columbo, before travelling for 12 hours over land to the village in the Ampara district on the East coast.

Mr Cooke said: "It was uncanny walking through the busy streets of Columbo after changing £8,000 into 14 million Rupees, it just filled two Morrison's carrier bags."

The Sunray English institute in Negumbo benefited from the purchase of a computer and installation to the internet, this will allow students to link with schools or colleges in the UK.

Any teachers interested in the initiative should contact Mr Cooke for details. The Bridge4Hope Charity Shield was also presented to Thushari Dysani for most promising student in 2005, and will continue to be awarded annually.

Mr Cooke said: "We bought sports equipment including cricket bats, volleyballs, badminton nets and rackets and footballs for the Thirukovil High school.

"The presentation was marked by a football match with the Red England team playing the rival Blue Chelsea team sporting their new strips. Despite the intrusion of a cow onto the pitch, which the teams played around, the Blues went on to win 4-0."

A piece of land adjacent to the school was purchased on behalf of Morecambe High School in Lancashire, which donated over £2,000 to the fund. The land will shortly be equipped

with playground equipment for the junior students.

A former two-acre coconut grove was turned into an adventure playground and there are also plans to locate a sewing class, brick making facility, bicycle repair workshop and classrooms. Eventually the site will generate its own income and provide local jobs.

Mr Cooke said: "It was an absolute joy to be able to employ local labourers and carpenters and therefore help the local economy. They worked hard, in temperatures of 40 degres, often 12 hours for 500 Rupees which is approximately £2.85 per day.

"The culmination of these efforts was the total satisfaction of seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter of the children, return after the traumatic experience of the Tsunami."

We were also able to help other families in smaller ways by purchasing kettles, fans and mattresses. A local tailoring shop has also been repaired and stocked, which will provide an income for two local families and help them rebuild their future."

Despite the success, Mr Cooke said what had been completed already was just the tip of the iceberg and he promised to continue to help. A recent grand auction at the Hollygarth Social Club in Ilkley raised more than £1,000. The next project on the agenda for the charity is to pay for an operation to restore a five-year-old child's sight.

Details of fundraising activities and other ways to help will be posted on the website; www.bridge4hope.com or contact Gordon Cooke on (01943) 839395.