A Croydon man went back to his home town in Africa to help the people that he grew up with.

Luc Diei-Yoa, went on a medical mission to the capital of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast to provide medical treatment to poor people in the local community.

The father-of-one, alongside a medical team of two GPs, two paediatricians, two midwives, and four nurses one pharmacist and 15 volunteers, went to the town of Angré.

There they helped with various skin diseases, hypertension, urine infection, infected wounds, constipation, peptic ulcers, arthritic pain, chest infections and other types of infections. They also dewormed adults and children.

The 40 year old said: “I did it because it was a long term vision for me to start something to bring some relief back home.

"I wanted to start in the area which I grew up in as a starting point, to work with people I know, in an area I know.”

During the two-week mission, supplies were provided by International Health Partners, where Luc works as a Health Programmes Officer.

The organisation provides Essential Health Packages, which provides 800 treatments for adults and children. Packs include antibiotics, antifungals, analgesics, antacids, anti-inflammatories, anti-parasitics, eye drops/ointment and inhalers.

Luc, who has lived in the Broad Green area of Croydon for eight years said: “We treated 315 people, we had to close early.

"Way too many people are still dying from very simple and easily treatable diseases like cholera and diarrhoea.

"Many also suffer from pain that prevents them from living comfortable lives. It is not easy but if you put the right effort into it can be done.”