Part of my job is to read fundraising materials and I guess you could say over the years I’ve become quite a hard person to get an emotion out of, let alone dip into my purse. That was until I read an article in the Saturday Times magazine by Lucy Bannerman.

The article focused on the work of Unicef and in particular Dr Mohammad Amiri. Like most people I was aware that every time I purchased Pampers nappies some of the money went to Unicef, but beyond that I had no interest.

I read this article over two weeks ago, and so powerful was the story that I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. The story was about the quest of Dr Amiri to deliver Tetanus injections to women and children in the remotest parts of Papua. Here becoming pregnant is not a joy, but more like a nine month death sentence for mother and baby. The women give birth in filth and usually the instruments used are dirty and nothing more than clam shells and Pandan leaves. In a race against time before the cool box can no longer keep the vaccines fresh, Dr Amiri has travelled 3,750 miles across land, sea and swamp to vaccinate more than 100 people a day. He doesn’t celebrate this, however, as for the vaccinations to be effective all recipients must have a second jab a month later. This will protect mother and child for two years. To be protected for five they will need another dose in two years’ time, and for total immunity they will need a full course in five years’ time.

For me, what made this story so strong was that Bannerman had just returned from accompanying Dr Amiri and so the hardship and drive of all those illustrated in the story was presented with such passion I felt compelled to do more to help. Sadly, the link to find out more took me to a German version of the site, but nonetheless I persevered and found my own way to the UK Pampers site and finally through to Unicef UK to donate.

I know with most charities, finding case studies can be time-consuming and in some cases it is like pushing water uphill. But I think the power of telling a story in the first person, from someone who is actually there, can’t be beaten and is well worth the effort. It is stories like these that stay in the minds of the donors and make them feel compelled, as I did, to support the charity.

For those of you who have a subscription to The Times Online the article can be found here: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/magazine/article3211768.ece