A PLYMOUTH health worker who will spend a month's holiday working in a rehabilitation centre in Bangladesh has won the Gold Star Award.

Sue Wayne, a speech and language therapy assistant at Mount Gould Hospital, has already travelled to the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) once, and plans to spend four weeks there this spring.

This time she can only manage four weeks off work, but has raised £500 for the centre by walking from Princetown to Plymouth.

Mrs Wayne, 54, from Saltash, said she originally thought she would go there only once.

"I thought I would come home and it would be out of my system but it's not. The people in Bangladesh are so wonderful and open, it makes you feel very humble."

Paying for the trip out of her own pocket, Mrs Wayne will take the money she raises with her, as goods and services that the centre needs can be bought much more cheaply in Bangladesh.

"Every pound I take will quadruple in value, because it can buy a lot more there," she said.

Mrs Wayne, first volunteered at the centre between January and March last year, when she went with a group of colleagues after seeing an email calling for people to go there and share their skills.

She said: "No matter how much you are prepared and know what you would face, it was still a stab in the heart when I got there."

CRP, in the town of Savar, is the only organisation of its kind in Bangladesh, a country with a population of 132million. About 10 per cent of Bangladeshis are disabled.

But Mrs Wayne said the charitable hospital was clean and well run, and the people there were extremely grateful for the help and medical care they got.

"It's like a little oasis in the middle of all the poverty," she said.

The patients are taught new jobs so they can earn a living.

Very simple things can make a difference to the patients, and last year Mrs Wayne helped to design and make chairs out of papier mache so that the children could be fed while sitting up.

Previously they had been fed lying on the floor, which could cause complications.

This year Mrs Wayne has decided to take a camera and photo printer with her, to take pictures of some of the patients.

She said: "The mums come in with children with cerebral palsy and others that they can't leave at home.

Many have never had a photo taken of them and their children, so it would be nice to take one and give it to them.

"It's such a simple and cheap thing to do for them."

Mrs Wayne is going to Bangladesh at the end of February and donations for the CRP can be made by sending cheques, payable to Project Bangladesh, to Sue Wayne, 12 Westbourne Terrace, Saltash, Cornwall PL12 6BX.

"Every penny raised will make a huge difference to people's lives. Please give generously," she said.

Bill Martin, editor of The Herald, said: "Sue shows tremendous dedication to helping those less fortunate than ourselves – I wish her the very best on her mission."

Marc Reddy, managing director of Gold Star sponsors First Devon and Cornwall, said: "Sue is a remarkable woman. Not only does she work incredibly hard in the UK as a speech and language therapy assistant, but she is also willing to give her time voluntarily to help others with serious disabilities in Bangladesh.

"I wish her luck with her forthcoming project."

Do you know someone who deserves the Gold Star Award? Send your nominations, with your contact details and theirs, to goldstarawards@theplymouthherald.co.uk, or call The Herald on 01752 765529.