Hugh Graham – WishWell Project – Round-up Report

Thu, May 25th 2017 at 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Past President Hugh will give the Club a full report on the past ten years of the WishWell Project in Malawi.
H&R: Peter Brown & Peter McCrossan
VoT: Katrina Gibbons


Tonight’s speaker at the Rotary Club of Motherwell and Wishaw was our own Past President Hugh Graham giving his final report on our WishWell Project.

Hugh reminded the members that this has been a 10-year effort with the entire Club being fully involved, and, since we have completed that 10-year pledge, it is appropriate that we close the undertaking by looking back on all that has been achieved.

After a chance meeting at the David Livingstone Centre in Blantyre, Past President Paul Begley had invited Prof Allan McGown, of Strathclyde University to speak to the Club on his, then, current project, the repair and re-commissioning of redundant wells in Malawi.

Having been impressed by Prof McGown’s talk, the Club President at that time, Dr Robert Liddle, proposed that we throw our weight behind this effort and pledge to fund the restoration of 10 wells and maintain them for ten years, thus providing Malawians with “100 years of water”, and the members readily agreed.

Fund-raising started and through Barbeques, Book Stalls, Concerts, Camel Derby, Slimathon and the support of other Rotary Clubs, bowling clubs and local churches we raised a healthy sum.

Through Rotary International, matching grants were applied for and we were able to raise £28,000 ($44,000 at that time). Working in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Limbe, in Malawi, our funds were used to build new wells and restore some others.

After some problems in Malawi during the first year, our co-operation turned to Strathclyde University, and for the remainder of the project they were our partners.

Tracy Morse, an employee of Strathclyde University, became our main contact in Malawi and she identified villages requiring renovation of wells, and, on our behalf, arranged for the renovations, the establishment of village ‘water committees’ and the training of three mechanics, in each village, able to maintain the wells for the foreseeable future. When Tracy resigned from her post, the Rev John Challis of the Raven Trust, very ably, took over these responsibilities.

In summing up, Hugh advised that, against our original target of restoring 10 wells, over the 10 years, we have raised £57,617 and created 4 completed new bore-hole wells, installed 3 new water tanks, complete with pumps and solar panels, and restored 84 existing wells, bringing good, clean drinking water to approximately 50,000 Malawians and greatly exceeding our hopes for success.

We are left with a little money in the WishWell fund and Hugh suggested that, perhaps, this money could be placed with another well project since that was the reason for its existence in the first place.

Hugh took a number of questions on the project from visiting Rotarians looking to undertake something similar in the near future.

The vote of thanks was proposed by Katrina Gibbons.

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