By Andrew Clarke

Published at 11:09, Thursday, 29 March 2012

A WOMAN who has dedicated her life to humanitarian work has received an MBE from the Queen.

deserving recipient: Joan Capp with her MBE, which the Queen presented her with during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace

Joan Capp, along with her colleagues from Bootle Refugee Aid Cumbria UK (Bracuk), has worked tirelessly to raise money and gather supplies which she has helped hand-deliver to war-torn and crisis-hit countries across the world.

And in recognition of her remarkable charity work, Joan received the MBE at Buckingham Palace on Thursday.

“I feel proud to be able to accept this honour on behalf of the Bracuk group, and for the Cumbrian community, schools and businesses for being so generous,” said Joan.

“It is an honour that it is my pleasure to receive, but I do think that there are others more deserving than me.

“But it is nice to recognise the work of Bracuk, a group of four retired ladies whose hard work often goes unnoticed.”

Joan was accompanied by her daughters, Deborah Pattinson and Linda Woodend, and her friend and Bracuk colleague Linda Hughes, for her palace visit.

“I don’t think I was too nervous meeting the Queen,” said Joan, who has been to Buckingham Palace once previously for the Queen’s Garden Party.

“She spoke to me for a few moments and asked where I had visited and I told her that I had been to Bosnia and other places in the past, but now we are working with a Christian school in Pakistan.

“People told me that she spoke to me for longer than some of the other people receiving honours, so she must have been quite interested.”

A long list of countries have benefited from the work of Bracuk over the last two decades. Founded in 1991, the organisation is made up of four ladies from Bootle: Joan, Jean, Pat Kaye and Gina Cookson, who work tirelessly and voluntarily to raise funds and deliver aid to those in need.

As a representative of Bracuk, Joan has been all over the world helping distribute aid by hand in the face of civil war, natural disaster and other human tragedy.

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk