Father's thank you after double tragedy
AN Ipswich man whose wife and daughter were killed in a horrifying elephant attack thanked donors to the charity he set up in his loved ones' memory. After the tragedy in March, Kelvin Parker, 54, founded the Charlotte Parker Charitable Trust to raise money for education supplies in African.
AN Ipswich man whose wife and daughter were killed in a horrifying elephant attack thanked donors to the charity he set up in his loved ones' memory.
After the tragedy in March, Kelvin Parker, 54, founded the Charlotte Parker Charitable Trust to raise money for education supplies in African.
So far he has raised £8,000, which will go towards distributing thousands of exercise books, pencils and text books in Zimbabwe, Malawi and South Africa.
Mr Parker, of Ashcroft Road, said: “Both I and my family appreciate the efforts the people of Suffolk made to contribute to the Trust.
“We are going to give them (African children) the chance to control their own lives, the power to help themselves. It is the only way.”
The tragedy, involving wife Veronica and daughter Charlotte, 10, occurred while on safari in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park.
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Recalling the horrific ordeal, Mr Parker said: “I wish we had not taken that walk. In 30 seconds my wife and daughter were dead. I just collapsed and spent 40 minutes with their bodies not knowing if the elephant would come back.”
He said when they went on the safari they were just days away from re-locating back to France, where their daughter was born.
In the wake of the tragedy, he founded the CharChar Trust.
“I think they would be very proud,” he said.
Having lived in South Africa, Mr Parker said he saw firsthand how aid in Africa was not working and said his scheme could provide the passport to a better life for thousands of children. He added Charlotte's love of reading inspired the idea.
The CharChar Trust works with rich schools in Africa, who co-ordinate what equipment is needed and where to send it.
Mr Parker is planning to head out there in January.
Anyone interested in fundraising or sponsorship should email kelvin@thecharchartrust.org or write to Mr Parker's Ipswich base at 103 Ashcroft Road, Ipswich IP1 6AE.
