Rosemary Lowdon, who lives in Bitteswell Road and works at Edmonds and Slatter Opticians, in High Street, is a trustee of the Malawi Orphan Fund, a charity set up to raise funds for the Home of Hope Orphanage in Malawi.

In 2006, the orphanage was brought into the spotlight when singer and actress Madonna adopted a one-year-old child, David Banda, from there.

Mrs Lowdon has been raising money for the orphanage ever since it was first built in 1997.

It provides a home for 620 children made orphans by diseases like Aids and HIV.

She said the £1,500 raised this year by colleagues and customers at the opticians will be essential in helping to keep the home running.

The money was raised by asking customers to make a donation for every repair carried out and there was also a raffle.

Prizes were donated by firms from all over south Leicestershire.

Mrs Lowdon added: "There is lots of work going on at the home all the time.

"Some of this money is being used to pay for a scholarship for one of the teenagers who lives at the home to go to college.

"We have sent containers of school and kitchen materials in March, including tables and chairs from Sherrier Primary School.

“We also had a huge donation of about 30 computers, and we used these to set up a lab.

“We are still very much in need of sponsorship, some of the buildings need renovating and some of the school supplies are

getting old or are expensive to buy.”

Mrs Lowdon became involved with the charity when she worked for a charity called VisionAid in Malawi in the early 90s.

She added: “The flurry over the Madonna row died down sometime ago but at the time the people at the orphanage could not understand the fuss.”

For more information about the home, visit www.homeofhope.org.uk.