- When Jonny Gibb won the television game show Survivor
he said his £1m payout would help fund two years of hedonism. A sports
car, sound system, and a surfing trip to Australia were top of the police
officer's shopping list.
-
- But now the former detective from Edinburgh says he will
devote his time to charity work with orphaned Dalits, or untouchables,
in India.
-
- The 33-year-old is to join a Scottish charity which is
working to improve the lives of 250 children, many of whom suffer from
diseases including HIV and Aids.
-
- The former Lothian and Borders police officer won £1m
in May 2002 after beating 11 other Survivor contestants marooned on a Panamanian
island at tasks such as eating live crabs, catching alligators, and standing
on a log for a day.
-
- Mr Gibb will also work with aid agencies at a leper colony
close to the orphanage in Tuni, in rural south east India.
-
- He only returned to Scotland at Christmas following a
10-month trek across south east Asia which included Vietnam, Cambodia,
Laos, and Thailand. He decided to devote time to the charity during his
stay in Cambodia when he visited the Siem Reap Landmine Museum which is
dedicated to helping orphaned children who lost limbs from landmines in
the Khmer Rouge's killing fields.
-
- Mr Gibb was so affected by the experience that he resolved
to spend time working with the victims on his return home to Scotland.
-
- "These kids had limbs missing and had suffered all
sorts of horrors yet they were so friendly and happy," he said yesterday.
"I realised how lucky I was and it got me thinking that I could do
something to help other children who were facing terrible suffering."
-
- He flies to India next week where he will spend two to
three months working at the Scottish Love in Action school in Tuni, set
up in 1999 following a youth group expedition to the area by Greenbank
Parish Church in Edinburgh.
-
- In the past four years the SLA charity has raised funds
to build a school-cum-home for the Dalit children, and volunteers visit
with the aim of feeding, clothing and educating youngsters ranging from
a few weeks old up to late teens.
-
- Many of the children have lost parents in the cyclones
which strike each year while others have been orphaned by the spread of
Aids.
-
- When Mr Gibb pocketed his £1m prize his mind was
on splashing out on a sleek sports car, plush home, and other trappings
his wealth allowed.
-
- But as a result of his travels his priorities have changed,
as has his distinctive highlighted blond hair which has given way to a
mass of curly black locks.
-
- Mr Gibb said: "When I won Survivor I was quite materialistic
and like most people dreamed of splashing out on the Audi TT, expensive
house and £10,000 music system. I still do want those things but
they are not really that important and there is no urgency. "It's
strange and I can't really explain it, but now that I can afford those
kinds of things they don't drive me anymore.
-
- "After seeing children living in the poorest conditions
that are always smiling and friendly and making the most of dreadful hardships,
it made me think that I would get a lot more satisfaction by giving up
my time and helping in some way.
-
- "I am really looking forward to it. I am going out
to India for at least two months and will stay longer if I can handle the
fierce temperatures which can rise to more than 30 degrees."
-
- He will be expected to help with the building of an extension
to the school and on irrigation and sanitation projects.
-
- He will also help with the daily feeding of the 250 children
and will visit remote jungle villages to give basic first aid and health
education.
-
- Gillie Davidson, 58, a former nurse and one of the founding
trustees of SLA, said: "Jonny will spend lots of time with the children
because he is pretty much on his own once the teachers go home each day
and he will find that it is non-stop.
-
- "It is very primitive and these children have had
lots of tragedy. Many have lost parents through the cyclones which devastate
the area and Aids is rife, but there is no self pity.
-
- "Jonny is so outgoing, energetic and determined
to work hard. He is big and strong and he will be a tremendous help to
the school where many things need done.
-
- "When Jonny first helped us opening our summer fayre
I made it clear we didn't want his money. Anyone can give money but it
is more difficult to give yourself and I am incredibly proud of him."
-
- The SLA school in Tuni is situated in rural south east
India. It is a 16-hour train journey from Madras and the closest major
city is Visakhapatnam.
-
- The oppressed of a nation
-
- Untouchables are outcasts who are considered too impure
or polluted to rank as worthy beings. They are shunned, insulted, banned
from temples and made to eat and drink from separate utensils.
-
- The practice of untouchability was constitutionally abolished
in India in 1950 but 160 million Dalits still endure near complete social
ostracisation.
-
- The term Dalit means oppressed and was first used in
the 19th century to describe India's caste system.
-
- In 1989 India enacted a law to prevent and punish state
and private abuses against Dalits, to establish special courts for the
trial of such offences, and to provide help for victims.
-
- However, campaigners say human rights abuses in their
most degrading forms continue.
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