Charity appeal in memory of tragic young Edinburgh doctor raises more than £24,000

A CHARITY fundraiser in memory of a talented young doctor who died in a freak ski accident has smashed through its target.

The Evening News reported earlier this month how trainee surgeon William Reid, 25, plunged over a 30-foot cliff after taking a wrong turn on a family holiday in the French Alps.

Now kind-hearted donors have pledged more than £24,000 to rebuild a school in the east African country of Zambia where William visited seven years ago.

“William was a very caring young man and was in his element when dealing with children,” reads the appeal.

“He was deeply moved by a visit to an orphanage in Zambia in 2013, and had always intended to find a way to help them in the future.

“His family and friends therefore wish, in William’s honour, to raise funds to rebuild a school in rural Zambia, and to provide ongoing support for the school thus creating a legacy in his name.”

The Kandindi school has been educating children with no state assistance for more than 40 years under a thatched roof with holes and no walls.

Children learn on desks of bricks stacked on the floor with no books, pens or paper.

Money raised by the appeal in William’s name will go to the Baraka Community Partnerships charity to fund building work, teachers and learning tools.

Anyone wishing to donate can do so at the In memory of William Reid fundraising page.