The Rifles’ Care for Casualties Appeal By Rebecca Maciejewska
“I am writing at the end of August and we have now had news of the death of our 58th Rifleman Killed in Action since the formation of the Regiment in February 2007. Our regimental service in Afghanistan continues”.
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The Regiment’s Care for Casualties Appeal is a ring-fenced appeal within The Rifles Regimental Trust (Charity number: 1119061). It has been going since February 2010 and I am writing at the end of August, eighteen months later, and we have now had news of the death of our 58th Rifleman Killed in Action since the formation of the Regiment in February 2007. Our regimental service in Afghanistan continues. Over £1,000,000 has been raised via the appeal by serving members, Associations, those with connections to our antecedent regiments either personal or thorough relatives, and by generous individuals and organisations with no connection to The Rifles. The Regimental family has been magnificent in showing its support to those in need and we thank you all. £1million sounds a huge sum; it is, but when you think of it in terms of supporting a continuing need, we still have a long way to go. In 2010 alone over £100,000 was spent by the Regiment on our casualties from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts over the past 4 years. This is in addition to the £328,000 spent in 2010 by The Rifles on 694 cases which arose from requests for help and support on behalf of veterans and their dependants from our founding regiments. Historically the regiments that made up The Rifles have always looked after their family – old and young - and it is on this foundation that The Rifles’ desire to continue to help those in need is based. So, how are we spending the money? Money raised is spent on direct and indirect support and grants to help individuals, on recuperation breaks, funeral support and casualty packs for those who arrive back at hospital in the UK and for rehabilitation at Headley Court. Where we can we work with the MoD and other charities such as ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, Help for Heroes, Combat
Stress, SSAFA. However, we step in alone to help where not to do so would mean what we consider to be an unacceptable delay in reaching the need or where restrictions on who can benefit from funding means that a need is not being met. Our main aim is to enhance the quality of life of the casualty. These examples illustrate the point: • adaptation of houses – especially funding for the extras not covered by government grants, such as kitchen equipment and units that are adaptable for use by either a disabled or an able-bodied person, so that a husband and wife can occupy the same living space with minimum disruption, thus enhancing their quality of life; or paying for a stair lift to be put into the home of a sibling of an injured Rifleman for whom it is his home at present. • adaptation of cars or the provision of quad bikes in certain circumstances to provide mobility. • paying for retraining and re-skilling and education. Injured Riflemen are now undertaking MA degrees, attending College and completing Diploma Courses, all funded, at least in part, by Care for Casualties. An example of this is a recent payment of £2,500 to help towards the costs of an MA, which will be an on-going annual cost for the duration of the course. • marriage guidance counselling for a double amputee and his wife, mental health courses for a number of (mainly TA) Riflemen and also for a spouse. Counselling for a mother and siblings of one of our Fallen Riflemen. • approximately £40,000 has been spent on rehabilitation and recuperation breaks for our wounded and bereaved. These give our casualties a sense of self-belief and optimism, the restorative benefits of which are incalculable. • driving lessons for amputees to give them independ-
ence; driving lessons for the carer of a Rifleman who is now epileptic having been shot on operations, and, similarly, driving lessons for the fiancée of a blinded Rifleman. • support for the expenses of our Regimental Casualty Officer to allow him to better oversee the care of our casualties. To date, The Rifles now has 29 amputees, including two who have taken the decision to have a lower limb amputation in order to improve their mobility. This gives us an insight into the quality of prosthetic limbs available to our soldiers. They are extremely technical pieces of equipment and with their help our Riflemen are now learning to ski, climb mountains, row across the Atlantic and take part in marathons. What we are not sure of is whether the NHS will provide this level of prosthetic care once they have left the Army. At present it will not and it seems unlikely that this situation will change. We wish to be able to support them in their desires to fulfil their ambitions, with or without limbs. Our injured soldiers are generally between the ages of 18 and 26, they have many years of life ahead of them and it is the intention of the Regiment to be able to support them, their families and the bereaved families at any stage, should they need it for the rest of their lives. With that in mind, please continue to support our Care for Casualties Appeal HERE and find a Gift Aid form HERE. We have set ourselves a target of another £600,000 by February 2012 which would bring our overall total to £1.6million and we will need to keep going thereafter. Every penny counts, so please continue to give and thank you for all that you have already done. For more information, please contact me, Rebecca Maciejewska, Appeal Coordinator, at c4c@ the-rifles.co.uk. **************
