The above quote was spoken by UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
TV Soccer Presenter Gary Lineker and Olympic Champion Dame Kelly Holmes choked back tears when they presented the Special Recognition Award to Beverley De-Gale and Orin Lewis who set up the ACLT in a desperate attempt to find new Black donors after being given the devastating news that their son Daniel had relapsed in 1995 and that the Leukaemia had returned. Gary- whose son had Leukaemia, admitted: “I had a big lump in my throat. To live through such a devastating disease when it happens to someone in your family is tough enough. But to work tirelessly to help other people is awe-inspiring.” Orin said:
"We are leaving here tonight on cloud nine.” Daniel is now 19 and studying at University. When Beverley De-Gale's son Daniel was diagnosed with leukaemia for the second time in 1995, a bone marrow transplant was his only chance. His sister Dominique had a one in four chance of being a match - but was not. So Daniel, then aged eight, would have to rely on the UK Donor Register. At that time, there were around 285,000 registered potential bone marrow donors in the UK. Shockingly, only 550 were black or mixed race. If Daniel were white, he would have had a one in five chance of finding a match. Because he was black, his odds were only one in 250,000. "It was a bit of a shock", says Daniel's step-father Orin. "But we could either do something or nothing.
We were not going to take it lying down." Beverley and Orin from Croydon, immediately took matters into their own hands. They set up the ACLT in a desperate attempt to find new black donors. "We wanted to get through to people", says Orin. "Our motto became 'By Any Means Necessary".
"We were going to call it the Daniel De-Gale Trust", says Beverley, "but it's not just about Daniel. It's about all those other people who are in the same situation." Beverley and Orin set about raising awareness and understanding in the black community about leukaemia and bone marrow transplantation. Four years ago they gave up their jobs to enable them to focus on the cause full-time.
"At first we came across a lot of obstacles", says Beverley, "There was a complete lack of awareness and we had a lot of educating to do. "But we knew we had the drive to keep going." Publicity for the charity went into overdrive as clinics were set up all over the UK. Last year alone the charity organised 54 day clinics. In 1998 Daniel, now aged 19, suffered another relapse and by 1999 was desperately ill, but finally a matching donor was found in America. He is now at the start of a university degree in sports therapy.
The couple still run the charity with the same energy as when they were searching for a donor. They continue to set up registration clinics in the predominately black areas across the UK. Since 1996, they have raised the number of black donors in the UK from 550 to nearly 20,000 and have been responsible for saving at least 14 lives through finding donor matches. This year is the 10th anniversary of the charity. If Daniel had been diagnosed today, the odds of finding a match would be one in 100,000, compared to one in 250,000 a decade ago.
(The feature above was originally written in late 2006)
Further information about the 2006 awards:
www.prideofbritain.com DAILY MIRROR PRIDE OF BRITAIN AWARDS WAS SHOWN ON ITV1 9PM TUESDAY, 7TH NOVEMBER 2006. BRITAIN’S UNSUNG HEROES HONOURED AT THE DAILY MIRROR’S PRIDE OF BRITAIN AWARDS 2006 - WINNERS REVEALED. It’s the night when more than 100 stars from the world of show business, sport and politics unite to honour the nation’s greatest unsung heroes at The Daily Mirror’s Pride of Britain Awards 2006 Kylie Minogue - making a rare TV appearance - Victoria Beckham, Jude Law, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, Rod Stewart and Simon Cowell join HRH Prince Charles and Prime Minister Tony Blair in saluting the amazing real-life winners. Other guests at the star-studded awards dinner in London's West End range from our top sportsmen and TV stars to pop groups Take That, Girls Aloud, McFly and the Sugababes. Pride of Britain is the biggest awards show of its kind in the UK.
The event took place at the London Television Centre, South Bank on Monday (November 6) from 5.45pm and was screened on the ITV1 network on Tuesday (Nov 7) at 9pm. Last year it beat both the BRITS and the BAFTAs in the TV ratings. Hosted by Carol Vorderman, the eighth annual awards show is even more uplifting than ever - packed with amazing celebrity surprises and out of this world moments... including a link up with astronauts on the International Space Station. Superstar surprises include Kylie Minogue “ who helps make a young girl’s dream come true” and fashion queen Victoria Beckham who dropped into an Oxfam shop to surprise the man who started charity shops 60 years ago with a truly deserved lifetime achievement award. It was be the first time that Kylie has appeared on British TV for nearly four months since her revealing Sky TV interview. The winners -ranging from brave children to adults - were chosen from more than 20,000 nominations by a panel of distinguished judges. Their stories are guaranteed to inspire, and move, millions of viewers.
The remarkable winners include an eight-year-old boy who has battled bravely through 130 operations, an amazing 12-year-old girl who has raised close to a £1million for the hospital that saved her life and a couple of brothers who saved three adults from drowning at sea. Other heroes include a policeman who clung to a getaway car bonnet at 50mph to catch a burglar and a gutsy mechanic who pulled a mother and child from a burning car seconds before it exploded. Carol Vorderman says: “It's a great chance to show there are amazing people in this country doing brilliant things which just take your breath away. And it's a chance for everyone to celebrate what a great country we are.” She admits she has to wear waterproof mascara on the night and says: "It’s an incredibly humbling experience and you can’t fail to be touched by the inspiring, real-life stories. Sometimes I can get a little choked up, but it's because it's so extraordinarily uplifting.
"Among distinguished people who have been involved in the Pride of Britain Awards have been Sir Paul McCartney, President Clinton, Bono, Robbie Williams, Sir Michael Caine, Sting, Victoria and David Beckham, Dame Helen Mirren and Sir David Jason. Prince Charles says of the awards: “These remarkable awards remind us of the compassion, decency and courage which still exists in every corner of the land." Prime Minister Tony Blair says it’s a chance to “acelebrate what’s best about our country.” Six years ago, as Michael Caine dried his eyes at this event, he said: "With all due respect to those actory type of occasions, they are nothing compared to The Mirror's Pride of Britain."And he was spot-on. This annual procession of magnificent children and adults reflects the goodness in all the decent, ordinary people around you. The Pride of Britain is about values. Not British values but human values. The ones we need to cherish above all others. Which is why these awards leave the rest in their wake. Watch it and you may just see why.
