WHEN the Ditchburn family from Malvern was invited to Uganda for a friend's wedding, they decided to take presents for more than just the bride and groom.

Richard Ditchburn, his wife Denise, and their two children John, aged 15, and Paul, nine, set about a giant fundraising initiative to buy aid for whole communities suffering from HIV.

The family, of Upper Welland Road, Upper Welland, went out to one of the world's poorest countries two weeks early to distribute goods including a computer, herbal medicines and even football equipment.

Mr Ditchburn said: "A friend of ours is a missionary in Uganda and he was getting married and asked me to be his best man.

"We all thought, as a family, that we couldn't go out there without doing some good. So we visited a number of projects to help people where we could.

"There is no international aid for HIV positive people in Uganda and it is very much up to the people to help themselves."

The main item the family took out was a laptop computer to help a project plan its work more efficiently. The Chase school, where son John is a pupil, donated footballs, kits, and other sporting goods.

Mr Ditchburn added: "We were treated like royalty wherever we went. It is very moving when you see a whole community that is HIV positive putting on a performance for you because you have showed some concern for them.

"It was a very difficult trip for all of us - we saw young children dying - but it was also a very valuable thing to do, especially for the boys, who could see just how lucky they are, and learn not to take things for granted."

The trip has inspired the family to do more and mum, dad, and brothers plan to go to Uganda again in the near future .