A Scottish ice hockey team will donate toys to children suffering from Malaria in Malawi.
The team, Glasgow Clan, collects the toys through its annual “Air the Bear” event where supporters throw new toys onto the ice for local charities.
This year, the ice hockey side has decided to donate some of toys to the Malaria Alert Centre in Blantyre.
According to Scottish media, the team has joined forces with the University of Glasgow to ship toys to Blantyre to give to children waking up from a malaria coma.
Scientists at the University of Glasgow’s Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation and the Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology (WCMP) have close research links with Malawi and when coming to the country they use their baggage allowance to take donations of surplus medical supplies and equipment to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi.
Gareth Chalmers, Glasgow Clan chief operating officer said: “We were recently approached by Clan fan Michael Rennie, who works as a research technician at the University of Glasgow, regarding supporting the Malaria Alert Centre with soft toys from our annual Air the Bear event.
“As it’s for a very worthwhile cause, we had no hesitation in agreeing to support this.”
Professor Andy Waters, WCMP director thanked the Glasgow Clan Ice Hockey team saying the donation will ensure that more Blantyre children will be comforted as they pull through a life-threatening illness.
“It is difficult to overstate how appreciated the toys are by the children and their families who have just come through the most stressful of circumstances,” he said
