A group of Galway healthcare professionals are embarking on a fundraising walk along the Famine Way to raise money for ongoing projects in an impoverished township in Zambia.
The charity i4Life is a non-profit Irish organisation that specialises in immunisation, nutrition and primary healthcare.
It currently provides nutrition clinics and primary healthcare services to an urban township called Linda Compound, which is based on the outskirts of Lusaka and has a population of approximately 80,000.
Dr Maura Moran is one of the volunteer health professionals who came together in 2009 to form the charity.
They specialise in healthcare for children under five in the poorer countries of the world and provide support to existing charities in emergency situations.
"These people are a combination of urban migrants, internally displaced people, some refugees, so it's a very marginalised community, a very vulnerable community," said Dr Moran.
The latest fundraising initiative in conjunction with Salthill Rotary Club is to install a solar power and water pump system in the Linda Compound.
Dr Moran said they are seeking walkers, sponsors and volunteers to help reach their target of €30,000.
"We want participants to walk in the shoes of a community health worker whilst raising these vital funds.
"It's an opportunity to make a real difference in the Linda community where access to clean water and reliable electricity is crucial to the quality of care we give.
"i4life is entirely staffed by volunteers who give generously of their time to organise and travel to Zambia to work for week-long stints, up to three times per year," she said.
The charity facilitates international health professionals coming from Ireland and from Europe, as well as medical students and young professionals who gain valuable experience from working with their Zambian colleagues.
"This model of mutual transfer of knowledge is a model in equality and diversity and in cultural sensitivity or humility," she said. "We are a group of like-minded health professionals with a similar interest in human rights," Dr Moran said.
The 20km walk along the historic famine route from Strokestown in Roscommon to Cloondara in Longford takes place on Easter Monday, 21 April.
