by STEVE GRAVENOR

A FLOOD of donations yesterday gave a massive boost to our appeal to give a young African girl the gift of hearing.

Cash and cheques poured into the EADT's appeal headquarters in Ipswich, and the total already stands at £1,200.

Scott Dolling, reader marketing manager for tEADT, said a combination of a postal strike and Bank Holiday had led to some donations being delayed.

But when he arrived at work yesterday he was overwhelmed by the massive number of envelopes which poured on to his desk.

"The response has been quite phenomenal," he said. "Our readers are clearly touched by Aminata's plight.

"It is obvious that people, particularly the elderly, really do empathise with Aminata and the difficulty she has hearing. It shows just how kind-hearted our readers are.

"They clearly want one so young to be able to hear and lead a normal life."

Aminata Sawaneh, six, needs surgery to cure her deafness caused by a deformed earhole — without the operation her future look extremely bleak. But in The Gambia, where she lives, no such operations are available.
Response is`phenomenal' 

However, surgeons at St Andrew's Hospital, Billericay, have offered to carry out the operation in their own time if Aminata can be brought to Britain.

Her plight was first highlighted by the Kingfisher Trust, which works to improve conditions in the impoverished Gambia.

The chance of Aminata getting the operation she so desperately needs moved much closer with yesterday's flood of cheques, but another £4,800 is needed before flights can be booked to bring Aminata to Essex —the money is required to pay for her flights and the cost of her stay in hospital.