Kettering garage donates masks to charity with local links

A Kettering garage has donated a case of 100 face masks to a charity with local links that supports vulnerable and disabled people in Sierra Leone.

Headlands Garage in Telford Way, Kettering, has given the masks to the Dorothy Springer Trust, which was founded by Abs Dumbaya and named after the lady that sponsored his UK education at Treham College.

Abs Dumbaya studied computer science at Tresham and went on to complete a degree at Loughborough University, all supported by Mrs Dorothy Springer from Market Harborough.

Dr Dumbaya contracted polio as a child in Sierra Leone and founded the Dorothy Springer Trust to support disabled people from Sierra Leone to access education, training and employment.

Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world and the Dorothy Springer Trust says disabled people in the country face considerable disadvantages and marginalisation from society

Mike Deely, owner of Headlands Garage, said they have supported a number of local initiatives recently and said: "We've supported ... the Dorothy Springer Trust, to highlight their links with Kettering and the value of their initiatives in their local community in Sierra Leone."

Dr Dumbaya said the donation of masks is an incredible way to save the lives of the most vulnerable members of society, disabled people, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Andy Brown, a Kettering-based trustee of the Dorothy Springer Trust, said: "Around 70 per cent of people with disabilities in Sierra Leone don’t have their own income, and often depend upon others for their basic needs.

"We’re really grateful to Mike and Headlands Garage for donating these high quality masks.

"Along with other safety measures which Dorothy Springer Trust supporters have provided, such as hand sanitisers and buckets for washing hands, the face masks will help people with disabilities to interact with others and continue living their lives in as normal a way as possible during this difficult time."

Andy has arranger for the face masks to be shipped to Freetown, Sierra Leone where they will be given out to those the trust supports. They are expected to arrive on July 22.

More information about the Dorothy Springer Trust can be found on their website here.

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