A group of volunteers raised £884 for a linked town at an event at the weekend.

Genieri, in the Gambia, is a rural village that has been linked with Yate since 1986.

The group, called the Yate-Genieri Link, hosted their latest event to provide an update on progress in the small village as well as raise some money.

The small village is currently recovering after a devastating break-out of malaria at the end of last year.

The Yate-Genieri Link launched an urgent appeal and raised over £1000 to arrange for a supply of medicine to be delivered.

The money was enough to cover the cost of treatment for all cases on that occasion, with some being kept in case another serious event.

On Saturday though the group gave an update to 65 guests about projects that are currently taking place at an event at Rangeworthy Village Hall.

Marian Gilpin, Chairman of the Yate-Genieri Link Committee, praised the event, and said: "Although the UK government is committed to using 0.7% of GDP for foreign aid, which is mostly spent on emergency disaster relief and larger infrastructure projects, there is still a great need for organisations such as ours to support smaller community projects in developing countries.

"With the money raised this evening, we are encouraging one small village to become self-sufficient, and to provide opportunities for its young people."