History of the Youlgrave Bangbutt Village Link

Youlgrave village has had a link with the village of Bangbutt in Sierra Leone since 1991.
We were introduced to Bangbutt by "Village Aid", a charity that works in Sierra Leone and other West African countries.
http://villageaid.smartchange.org/
Village Aid have given us much support and encouragement in the intervening years.

Originally the aim was to develop friendships through correspondence with the villagers.

This was interrupted when civil war broke out in 1992 and Bangbutt was ransacked and burnt. Some villagers were killed, some were taken as soldiers and others fled to Freetown 100 miles away. During the next 8 years we had a very fragile link with the people in Freetown and sent small amounts of money to help them. When the war ended the people returned to face the long task of rebuilding. They also had to come to terms with the horrendous things that had happened during the war.

In 2000 a Harvest Appeal was launched in Youlgrave asking local people to donate at least £10 annually to Bangbutt. This continues to be very successful thanks to the generosity of our supporters. We started by sending out money for seeds, tools, material for school uniforms and second-hand clothes. However, it became clear that they needed more substantial help.

We gained charitable status in 2003. This has two benefits. We can claim back income tax on donations from taxpayers - £3,453 up to June 2008. It also improves our chances when applying for grants from fund giving bodies.