Stoma care may often be taken for granted in the UK but in some parts of the world, lives are most definitely not improved by ostomy surgery. This article looks at four charities working to distribute the essentials in stoma care around the world.

 

Universally, ostomates have much to contend with in terms of managing their mental and physical wellbeing. In the UK, patients are fortunate to have the latest medical support and advice from diagnosis to aftercare, but in some countries, many wake from stoma surgery to unhygienic and unsafe conditions.

This contrast in care has rallied charities into action, directing stoma supplies that would otherwise end up in landfill to people who desperately need them.

 

Footprints 2 Africa
Registered charity no: 1214173

Newly registered charity Footprints 2 Africa, based in Gloucestershire, collects unused stoma supplies from individuals, hospitals, and support groups across the UK. Items are sent to under-resourced hospitals, non-profit organisations and vulnerable ostomates in severe need. Founder Sam Yiollaris said: “In March 2024, my life changed when I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. After major surgery, I was left with a very high-output ileostomy. Managing dehydration and stoma output became a daily physical and mental challenge. It was an incredibly tough journey. After a successful reversal in December, I found myself with a surplus of stoma supplies. I couldn’t throw them away; I wanted to bless someone in need instead.

“Around that time, my children were planning a trip to South Africa, so I reached out to the South African Society of Stomates (SASS) and connected with co-founder Heather, who revealed the hidden crisis ostomates face there. I posted about this in a stoma support group to see if I could collect more supplies, ensuring a meaningful donation could be sent with my children. When they returned, they shared the overwhelming gratitude they received from Heather. The appreciation was so profound it brought tears to my daughters’ eyes. The photos and stories broke my heart.”

Sam immigrated to the UK from South Africa in 2018 and was well aware of the severe challenges in the state healthcare sector. In Africa, many stoma patients lack access to essential supplies and are forced to use bread bags, plastic bags or heavy-duty tape as makeshift solutions. There is also a critical shortage of trained stoma nurses and a high level of stigma and misunderstanding about ostomies in many communities. Sam added: “While many parts of Africa and South Africa face severe healthcare challenges, ostomy care remains among the most difficult worldwide. Had I undergone surgery in South Africa, I could have been one of the many who suffer without proper supplies or support. I am immensely grateful to the NHS and my care team here in the UK. This is why Footprints 2 Africa exists, to bridge this gap, restore dignity and provide hope to those forgotten.”

Footprints 2 Africa has partnered with SASS, who identify the hospitals they support. Currently, SASS is in talks with three other tertiary hospitals, which will then receive ostomy products from the charity, supported by a nurse capacity-building programme coordinated by SASS. Sam explained: “Sr Jolanda Janse van Noordwyk, a SASS-affiliated stoma nurse, assesses the patients and prescribes the correct stoma bag and supplies from our stock. This tailored approach has dramatically reduced leakage and skin complications, lowered stoma bag usage, and improved patient compliance and quality of life.” According to Sr Aletta Ross, Operational Manager at Helen Joseph Hospital: “Footprints 2 Africa made it possible for us to say yes to our patients. For once, we didn’t have to turn anyone away.”

In May, Sam returned to South Africa for the first time in seven years. Working alongside SASS at Helen Joseph Hospital, patients told her how they were spending significant time and money travelling to hospitals, only to receive up to three stoma bags or none at all: “I witnessed tears, sadness, gratitude and relief when patients received their donated pouches supplied through Footprints 2 Africa. These supplies restored their dignity and freed them from the constant fear of leaks or painful skin damage, allowing them to reintegrate into society.”

In the UK, the charity has also supported ostomates, especially during this summer’s heatwave. Sam said: “Some people used more supplies than usual while waiting for their deliveries and we donated items to bridge that gap, including to those who forgot supplies while on holiday.”

In just a short period of time, Footprints has made a huge impact, restoring dignity, preventing infection and giving people hope and visibility where they once felt forgotten. “We’re passionate about breaking stigma, restoring dignity and ensuring no one feels alone in their bowel or bladder journey,” continued Sam. “We welcome anyone interested in helping to get in touch, whether through donations, partnership or awareness.”

To find out more, visit footprints2africa.org.uk or follow them on Facebook: @footprints2africa

 

Jacob’s Well Appeal
Registered charity no: 1192373

Yorkshire-based charity Jacob’s Well Appeal was founded by Dr Beryl Beynon in 1982, and today supports people in more than 30 countries, including Ukraine, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Cameroon and Cuba.

From their Beverley HQ, the team supplies medical aid, agricultural equipment and projects, educational kit and projects, tools and building supplies, emergency disaster relief and helps people help themselves through sponsorship and small business support.

Beryl’s son, John, took the reins in 2013 with the help of two retired GPs, Drs Alistair and Margaret Robertson (2015-25), taking Jacob’s Well Appeal from strength to strength. In their recent newsletter, John highlighted the reach of the charity, which saw £5m worth of aid sent overseas in 2024.

North Eastern IA regularly delivers surplus supplies to the charity.

To find out more, visit jacobswellappeal.org

 

Chameleon Buddies
Registered charity no: 1199430

Many ostomates will have heard of Gill Castle, the first person with a stoma to swim solo across the English Channel in 2023. A year before that incredible feat, Gill, who had a colostomy following childbirth complications in 2011, established her charity Chameleon Buddies to help women who had undergone similar maternity trauma in both the UK and Kenya.

Partnering with non-profit organisation Beyond Fistula (beyondfistula.org), which supports women with obstetric fistula in Kenya, Chameleon Buddies fundraises to send stoma supplies to the women in need, run outreach peer support groups and hold training workshops for both patients and nurses in ostomy care. Nivea Ogutu, a Kenyan ostomate who was a recent workshop participant, has since been employed as the Ostomy Co-ordinator, working for the charity in Eldoret at their new hub, a specially designed and constructed building for ostomy supplies. Nivea is in charge of distributing supplies and overseeing the peer support groups. Closer to home, Gill provides support groups for women in Northumberland following childbirth or stoma surgery.

The charity accepts all stoma supplies and accessories (excl. male catheters), and Surrey IA is among their regular benefactors.

Find out more at chameleonbuddies.org.uk

 

Medics4Ukraine
Registered charity no: 1114639

Devon-based humanitarian organisation Medics4Ukraine (M4U) was co-founded by Professor Mark Hannaford and paramedic Luca Alfatti in 2022. Their aim was to provide targeted and agile trauma medical supplies to organisations impacted by the conflict.

Falling under the umbrella of independent charitable body World Extreme Medicine Fund, M4U has so far delivered £3.66m of medical aid supplies and 3,200 training days, and trained more than 900 people in combat casualty care.

Part of M4U’s medical aid includes surplus stoma supplies, with Devon & Somerset IA among the principal hunter-gatherers of these items.

To find out more, visit wemfund.com/Ukraine

 

• It’s important to note that the issue of surplus medical supplies lies with the NHS, and with the service currently looking at ways to reduce costs and waste, the work of charities that supply stoma appliances may eventually have to adapt to find alternative ways to support vulnerable ostomates.