Immediate: 25 April 2009
A village in the African state of Tanzania will shortly be drinking clean water thanks to the generosity of the Rotary Club of Canterbury. The Club’s International Committee has donated £500 (five hundred pounds) to the charity WaterAid (correct) to build a well in the district of Singida.
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Presentation of cheque for £500 by Colin McKone, Chairman of the Rotary Club’s International Committee (left), to Dr Mike Vaile of WaterAid (right) |
The cheque was handed over at a recent meeting of the Rotary Club to WaterAid’s Dr Mike Vaile, a retired Canterbury GP, who now raises money for the charity in Kent. He said: “Recent Tanzanian Ministry of Water figures suggest that 70% of the rural population and 30% of urban dwellers have no access to safe water. Unsurprisingly, diarrhoea is said to account for at least one in five infant deaths.” He added: “This generous donation by the Rotary Club of Canterbury to help build a well in a village in the Singida district will improve the quality of life for people living there – and may well save lives.”
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A well of similar design installed elsewhere in Singida District, Tanzania (copyright WaterAid) |
The Chairman of the Rotary Club’s International Committee, Colin McKone said: “I know Singida district very well having visited it in the past when I was working in the field of international agricultural development. I can confirm it’s in an area well away from mainstream development so WaterAid’s programme is particularly significant for this reason”. He added: “We only have to read of the terrifying spread of Cholera in Zimbabwe due to a failure of water supplies there so any support we can give to help provide clean water – which we all take for granted – will have a major impact on health and development.”
More information on the WaterAid charity can be found at:
http://www.wateraid.org/international/what_we_do/where_we_work/tanzania/2610.asp
