UGANDA has been dubbed the malaria capital of the world and an Exmouth man says he knows the danger all too well.

The infection, caused by mosquitos, is rife, and hundreds of people die every day from the disease which is preventable and curable if medicine is available.

Ugandan-born youth worker Denis Kigongo ,who now lives in the seaside town, laid the foundations for the Suubi Medical Clinic in the Iganga district of Uganda and is now appealing for help from his "generous British friends" to sustain the clinic and save lives.

"I was born and grew up in the village of Busu, home to about 20,000 people whose houses are the size of a garage," he said.

"I used to walk up to three miles to fetch water. And for seven years I would walk 10 miles to school.

"You have to pay school fees over there so most children leave school at 13.

"But I was very lucky to get out of the village. An English woman who had come over to work for the church paid for me to go to school and then train as a teacher.

"I know how desperate my people are. So I thought about what I could do to help."

Denis says the nearest Government hospital is 15 to 20 miles away from his village and looks after 100,000 people. And the few privately run clinics are expensive.

Denis, 37, who runs Abantu Arts, returned home for a visit this summer. Tragically, just two weeks before his arrival, his auntie who raised him, died from a snake bite.

"She was 50 metres from the clinic," he said. "But it had no means to treat her.

"She would have to have gone on the back of someone's bicycle to the hospital but it is too far. So she died.

"I've lost friends and neighbours to malaria.

"And women are giving birth in their houses and by the river so there is a high mortality rate of women in labour.

"There's a network of women who work as midwives but they're not trained.

"When I went back people were begging me to help.

"By tradition, a father gives each of his sons a portion of his land so they can live and grow food there and then pass it onto their sons.

"I have five brothers and seven sisters so I had to convince my dad to give me my portion of land now, for the clinic.

"The plan was to build the clinic in stages. Three years ago I started out with £100 which bought local materials – the bricks are made out of mud and the sand was from the local river. We had to then buy the tin for the roof and cement.

"Chumleigh Community College raised some money for the project and some of my English friends donated some."

Denis says although most of the clinic is built, a laboratory is desperately needed to test blood for malaria, as well as other clinical items and man power.

"The main thing we treat is malaria," he continued. "But they can only go on symptoms, we need to be able to test it.

"And we need a maternity section so women can have privacy.

"It's in use but it's very basic.

"It costs £300 a month for two nurses. This is the salary of a primary school teacher for a year. And we need to buy medical supplies.

"First and foremost I want to get the clinic up and running before I then try and raise the money to register it as a charity.

"I just need 100 people to give £3 a month.

"We're also looking for anyone who may be able to help in other ways as well.

"A dentist from Ashburton has already visited and is planning another visit in the spring. We need people with skills to help.

"We are also looking for used equipment including microscopes and stethoscopes."

For more information or to find out about getting involved visit, www.suubiclinic.co.uk