I’m currently fundraising for the brilliant UK charity, Kidney Care UK.
During difficult moments we turn to loved ones for comfort. Especially now. Charities also play a big role. When things got tough for me, I turned to Kidney Care UK. 
Dad needed an urgent kidney transplant. He was told his kidneys were failing. I wanted to be a donor and find out whether we were a match. Then I wavered. When things got confused, I turned to Kidney Care UK. They’re a medium-sized charity, but for me personally and for the thousands they support, the impact is huge.
Kidney Care UK is the UK’s leading patient support chartity, providing practical, financial and emotional support for kidney patients and their families. In my case, it was Nick, one of their Advocacy Officers, who provided the most important help of all – a listening ear and a hand to guide me on my way.
They answered all my questions and allayed my fears. Nick spoke from experience – Kidney Care UK is a charity for kidney patients but in many cases, staff and volunteers have their own experience of kidney problems. With his expertise, I felt set – I decided to go ahead and donate.
There are many kidney conditions but the one my Dad had was Chronic Kidney Disease. It is much more common as we get older, with roughly half of all people over 75 having some degree of kidney disease. All is well, save the fact my Dad often likes to remind me he now has a “Ferrari for a kidney”!
To be clear, they need support. Urgently. Like all UK charities, demand for their services is growing at exactly the same time their income is dropping. Due to the changed world we live in, many more people are turning to them for expert advocacy and health information, while others need their emotional support as operations have been delayed or deferred and people face up to very difficult choices. 
There are other charities I support who likewise need support.
Kidney Care UK is the charity I’m specifically supporting right now – people with kidney problems have concerns as they’re vulnerable to the impacts of the Covid-19 disease. Many are shielding at home under the strictest possible lockdown. Many others, if they’re able to go out, need constant updates and information from Kidney Care UK around what they can do to avoid taking any avoidable risks to their health.
This means Kidney Care UK need support like never before.
To raise funds for Kidney Care UK, I have compiled my short stories and together with recent memoirs, I now have a book!
I would like to share this book and raise funds for Kidney Care UK.
Please make a donation to help Kidney Care UK support many more families like mine and, in return, you will receive a copy of The world is a narrow bridge, my book.
The world is a narrow bridge is a collection of stories of Moroccan nomads, quarantined spacemen, families forced apart, and families reconnected. The memories cover Chilean mountain hikes and an account of the Coronavirus lockdown in France and Spain. There is some adult content, with some LGBT themes. My stories are shaped by personal influences, but only some of it is autobiographical, so don’t read too much into the juicy bits!
Your copy of The world is a narrow bridge will be sent as a PDF to the email used when making your donation. Your details will not be used for any other activity without your permission. Please allow 14 days to receive the email.
For all donors who make a donation by Thursday 7 May, I will be offering a live reading of some of the stories from the book, so if you fancy joining, do donate before then. Every little bit helps. And if you can’t make a donation, please would you consider sharing news of my ‘Storytime for Kidney Care’ fundraiser by sharing this page or my JustGiving page.
Thank you.
Andrew Kaye @JKaye82