ORGANISERS of a successful crisis fundraising meeting into the Ebola outbreak say they need residents’ help as they close in on an international grant for over £35,000 towards the cause.

Marlow Rotary Club held a public forum at Marlow’s URC church on Monday, hearing from aid worker David Frankfort who had flown in from Liberia to update Rotary colleagues on the situation on the ground.

The fundraisers are now confident they can secure a Rotary International global grant of at least £35,000 to get help straight to the worst affected areas through their counterparts in Monrovia.

But they must first stump up at least £6000, and with almost half already pledged, Marlow Rotary President Brian Jonson is urging residents to dig deep when he and his colleagues hit the streets on Friday.

He said: "We had a very, very positive meeting with people coming from a considerable distance to hear the message from David [Frankfort].

"One of the things coming out of the campaign is that we can get help straight to the people that need it, and NGOs can often miss bits.

"It looks as if we may be able to turn this into a global grant, but what we have to do is produce a minimum amount of money, around six to seven thousand.

"If we can do that from the street collections then I would be very surprised if we couldn’t secure the grant."

Mr Jonson and his colleagues will be spotted at key locations in Marlow on Friday holding yellow buckets for the Ebola campaign.

Wycombe Rotarians will also be taking to the streets this weekend to raise money.

The World Health Organisation has put the number of cases in the recent outbreak of Ebola in West Africa at over 3000, with over half dying from the virus.

The worst hit areas are Sierra Leonne and Liberia, where Mr Frankfort and his Rotary colleagues are based.

British nurse William Pooley, who contracted Ebola while working in West Africa, was discharged from hospital in London this week after making a full recovery.