Images of malnourished children in West Africa on television and in the newspaper has inspired a group of nurses to try and help.

One of the organisers, JoAnne Armstrong, said nurses were deeply affected by what they saw.

?According to the British Red Cross, thousands of children are severely malnourished and many are believed to have died since the crisis was declared earlier this year,? she said.

Saving lives is why Bermuda?s 700 nurses entered the profession and this, they felt was another opportunity to do just that.

Which is why they came up with the idea of an appeal for the children of Niger ? one dollar from each person in Bermuda on one day ? December 14.

Fellow nurse Ronnie Coburn urged all Bermudians to support the appeal, adding that all funds would be handed over to the Bermuda Red Cross.

?Your dollar can provide enough food for a malnourished child for ten days and one US penny can provide provide enough water for a family?s cooking and drinking for a whole day,? she said.

Letters of appeal have also been sent to schools and businesses and the nurses are hoping to get permission to drop their ?collection buckets? off at as many places as possible. These containers, marked Niger Appeal Fund, will also be placed in supermarkets across the Island.

This is not the first time the Bermuda Nurses Association has reacted to a major crisis in Africa.

In 1991 members raised over $800 towards victims of violence in Rwanda by holding a walkathon.

Fellow organiser Russ Ford can be contacted at 238-6940 or by e-mailing rafnorthrock.bm. Ms Armstrong can be contacted at 238-8105 for further information.