Uganda 'shocks' Girls Aloud star (From Harrow Times)

Uganda 'shocks' Girls Aloud star

1:00am Tuesday 16th March 2010 in

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Kimberley Walsh has told how she broke down during an "overwhelming" visit to a maternity ward in Uganda for Sport Relief.

The Girls Aloud singer, who has guest-edited a special issue of Now magazine for the charity, gave a frank account of the poverty she witnessed.

The 28-year-old, who joined other celebrities to climb Mount Kilimanjaro last year, was finding out how her fundraising efforts helped stricken communities in Africa.

"Although it was a sad trip, it was nice to see the difference the money we raised climbing Kilimanjaro last year has made," Kimberley said in Now.

"Visiting a maternity ward in Hoima Hospital, Hoima, was one of the most difficult experiences.

"I was told the story of a woman called Jacqueline who was pregnant and had contracted malaria. She arrived there two days before we did, but her husband didn't get her to hospital in time. Both Jacqueline and her unborn baby died from what is actually a preventable disease.

"I think even though I had been on a trip like that before, and you see things in the press and on TV, none of that prepares you for the shocking reality."

Kimberley said she thought she would be OK - but felt "overwhelmed" and ended up rushing outside to compose herself.