Derek Edwards was part of a team of volunteers that visited the neglected island of Ukerewe, one of the most deprived places on the continent, where one in 16 children born in the hospital are believed to die prematurely – the majority from preventable dieases.

In January, Yorkshire’s current Rotary leader John Philip and his wife Chris visited Tanzania and launched an appeal, which resulted in £250,000 worth of vital medical equipment being shipped to the island’s hospital.

Mr Edwards said: “When I decided to join the 24-member Rotary team to renovate part of the hospital, I knew it would be a big challenge. However, nothing had prepared me for the two-week, life-changing experience.

“A cancelled flight from Nairobi saw our group flying to different airports in East Africa, which for me included visits to Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam, before being reunited and welcomed in the tin-roofed tiny airport at Mwanza, which is the second biggest city in Tanzania.”

The many-legged journey involved landing on mud strips in a twin-propeller aircraft – and he gave the airline company “10 out of 10” for not losing his luggage!

When the team finally got to the island of Ukerewa after a three-hour ferry journey, their home for the next eight days was a low-cost motel-type lodge with intermittent water and electricity supplies.

Mr Edwards said: “The district hospital serving the island community of 350,000 people living in remote villages, linked by mud tracks and boats, was in a dire state of disrepair.

“Our task was to renovate the operating theatre unit to make it safe for life-saving operations.”

The theatre operating light was hanging from a water-damaged ceiling, there were bird droppings, cobwebs and a thick layer of grime everywhere, and frequent power cuts meant some of the operations had to be carried out by torchlight.”

Mr Edwards said he had doubts about the basic sterilisation process, and he was shocked to see washing, sanitation and feeding left to the patients themselves, who were often two to a bed.

The team’s work included the total replacement of ceiling, tiling walls, painting, plumbing and electrical work, while the last two days were spent installing the new equipment which had been sent out.

The Rotarians also distributed 3,500 mosquito nets as part of a bid to combat malaria, the most common cause of child mortality, and visited a number of schools to see what help they could offer in the future.

Mr Edwards said he enjoyed the challenge and it was “a pleasure” to work with the dedicated team at the hospital to help improve the conditions.

“It was a very emotional and rewarding experience and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” he added.

As many as 25,000 children worldwide under the age of five die every day due to preventable diseases, the vast majority in sub-Saharan countries, with some parts of Tanzania ranking high on the list.