Will Grut has 60 reasons to pick your pocket.

Will Grut, executive secretary of Rose Charities, is going to be 60 on February 22nd. While many of us keep this milestone a secret, Will is turning his big day into a charitable fund raising event for a cause that is close to his heart: health education. “It is amazing how just a little information can prevent so much terrible disease for so many. Much human suffering is generated not only from disease but also from reaction to disease caused by ignorance, for example appalling violence against women (and children) is inflicted through ignorance and bizarre beliefs about HIV transmission. Simple knowledge about clean water could prevent hundreds of thousands of child deaths every year. The use of a $4 mosquito net could cut down or even eliminate the 2 million annual malaria deaths (1 million of them children, four times the number of deaths in the Haiti earthquake per year, every year). Rose Charities works in a number of areas addressing education. Female eye health volunteers are trained in Nepali villages to identify early disease which will cause blindness. In Africa, through the Hillman Fund and partners, the Laura Case Trust trains young professionals in medicine and surgery. In Sri Lanka, Rose runs many education programmes specifically targeting females, and in Pakistan assistance is provided to train birthing attendants. There are many gaps in health knowledge which, if addressed, could prevent the suffering and deaths of millions, lessen the abuse of women and children and ensure a kinder life for the elderly and vulnerable.”
Please donate to Will for his 60th birthday; donations to Rose Charities are tax deductible. You can donate at Justgiving (UK), Firstgiving (USA) or Canada Helps (Canada)   (other locations please use one of the three)