Since the charity was first set up in 1984, Jacob’s Well Appeal has been sending medical aid abroad to countries that are struggling with lack of medical and surgical items.
This aid is made up of donations from the NHS such as walking frames and unwanted mechanical beds as well as bandages and gloves near the date line from manufacturers. These would all go to landfill otherwise.We also send ostomy supplies from firms and the general public.
Our medical directors visit the hospitals we send this aid to, to check how it is used and what is required. Clinics they visit in the rural areas have no dressings or gloves or medication but it can still be very difficult to get this aid through customs.
OSTOMY SUPPLIES
These are the bags and devices patients use after they have had surgery on their bowels or bladders, leaving them with the need to collect their waste in a device attached to their bodies. In the UK these are provided by the NHS. In poorer countries the patient has to pay for them and often they are in very poor supply, so the price of the items is beyond most peoples wages. Without these bags the patients are effectively housebound and there life is very desperate.
There are many reasons why someone might need to have colostomy surgery, including:-
- Diverticulitis
- Crohn’s disease
- Cancer of the bowels
- Obstruction of the bowels
- Trauma & injury
- Bowel incontinence
- An emergency situation
Colostomy bags are very expensive, in the unlikely event that the local pharmacy would have them in stock. Imagine the humiliation if you couldn’t get one and had to make your own out of leaky carrier bags – something that frequently happens in poorer countries. We have seen one young teenage boy using a tin can that he strapped to his belly.
Jacob’s Well helps people, particularly in West Africa and Moldova by sending the ostomy supplies that otherwise they would not have, enabling patients to live a dignified life. We are very grateful to receive any donation of unwanted Ostomy products including pouches (even if they have been pre-cut) and accessories. We can also accept lotions, powder, sprays, gels and wipes – provided they are unopened.
You can either post them via the post office, using www.parcelmonkey.co.uk or www.myhermes.co.uk which usually works out cheaper for items over 2kg. They can come and pick up the item from your home and courier it to us.
Our address to send items to is Jacob’s Well Appeal, Jacob’s Well Yard, Swinemoor Lane, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 0JX