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Rotary Water-Survival Boxes - Update 15 - 2011/2012 - Horn Of Africa Appeal 

 

Good evening to all District International Service Chairmen, Club Presidents, and my fellow Rotarians

The drought and famine crisis affecting the Horn of Africa has been a high profile news item since the summer of 2011 and led to the migration of hundreds of thousands of families to refugee camps in north-east Kenya. The crisis continues (December, 2011) to affect some 13.3 million people in the wider area.

Towards the end of the year our earlier offer of Water-Survival Boxes was taken up by our partner aid agency (Humanity First) and their resident team in Nairobi. A consignment of 300 boxes in multi-pack format (water purification kits only) was flown to Nairobi where Humanity First were working with the local representatives of Save the Children. Despite major problems related to security of convoys and destruction of road systems by an abnormal rainy season Save the Children were successful in distributing the boxes in the provinces of Mandera and Wajir in north east Kenya, an area stretching 350 km south from the Somali border and 200 km west of Somalia.

Attached is the report recently received from Save the Children giving details of the distribution and briefing sessions conducted by members of their staff. You will see that each box was allocated to a school, clinic, or hospital so as to maximise the number of children and vulnerable adults to benefit from this means of purifying water. The report (page 7) estimates that in Mandera some 35,000 students and teachers will have benefitted from the distribution and in Wajir a further 6,325 students – a grand total of more than 41,000.  This is by far the largest per capita usage of our boxes to date and we will discuss with Save the Children the extent to which this operation might need to be repeated in north-east Kenya. It might also be an appropriate model for other parts of Africa and elsewhere.

Our ability to prepare and send this aid was entirely due to the funding support we continue to receive (largely) from Rotary Clubs throughout Great Britain and Ireland. As you can see we remain on alert to send aid where it is desperately needed even when the disaster has disappeared from the national news headlines. The process is entirely dependent on the receipt of donations so that we can purchase the items needed to pack the boxes and pay for the air freight charges to the disaster area.  With sincere thanks to all those Clubs that have already supported us during 2011/2012. Clubs keen to assist are asked to make their cheques payable to ‘Worldwaterworks Limited’ and send them to the registered office of our Rotary charity – Westfield Business Centre, 32 Second Avenue, Westfield Trading Estate, Midsomer Norton, Radstock BA3 4BH.

Please let your Clubs know how we have been able to respond to this particular disaster.

Yours in continuing Rotary humanitarian aid Service

Hugo Pike PHF - Director of Operations – Worldwaterworks Limited  - PP RC Chelwood Bridge – D1200 

15 February 2012

[ Website Editorial Team - the attached report to this page by Save the Children makes interesting reading ]