A serious challenge.
DIck Stain and team competed successfully in the Three Peaks Yacht Race, raising money for WIlmslow Wells for Africa
Congratulations to Dick Stain and his team for their excellent achievement which raised over £1500 for Wilmslow Wells for Africa. The following is extracted from Dick’s message to his supporters:
“To friends, colleagues, neighbours and relatives: Many thanks for sponsoring and supporting us in the Three Peaks yacht race. We raised about £1500 plus online contributions and as you know this was all for Wilmslow Wells for Africa. We had a fabulous race coming in 2nd in the Tilman Trophy (we get the Bodlyn cup, whatever that is!) and 8th overall. Out of 26 entries. The weather was awful at times and we spent a scary 12 hours beating into a full gale to get into Whitehaven.
Team Laura website (www.vibro.f9.co.uk) is now updated with photos etc as is the official Three Peaks site at www.threepeaksyachtrace.co.uk
Huw managed to get a little bit in the Macclesfield Express (page 68) and I’ll try and do the same in Wilmslow Express. There is a television documentary of the race on Channel 4 and S4C on Sunday, 9th September at 8.00am, part of a series called “Adrenalin Rush”
Thanks again folks
Dick”
Soup turned into water!
Another successful Wilmslow Wells for Africa Souperday
On February 15th, more than 150 Wilmslow Wells for Africa supporters attended the Souperday at St. John’s Church Rooms, Knutsford Road, Wilmslow, and they heard Joanna Southgate, the charity’s chairman, read extracts from an e-mail received from Pastor Barry Ilunga in which he talked excitedly about the celebrations, following the opening of a clinic, at Mibila, in Zambia, for which Wilmslow Wells for Africa had funded a borehole.
A baby girl had been born in the safety of the clinic the night before the official opening and Barry says, “Let me say, I felt a sense of fulfilment to see the baby born and people being attended to. It (the clinic) is a great blessing! Thank you for helping this community to have a health facility within their reach! Thank you to all who have contributed to this community-transformation project!”
This was exciting news because Sarah Ventress, from the Ivy Cottage Church at Didsbury, which funded the building of the clinic, came to speak at the October Souperday. Sarah had recently returned from a three-month trip to Zambia, during which time she had helped with the clinic’s construction. She, also, visited the village of Kapeshi, for which Wilmslow Wells for Africa had previously funded a borehole, and she said, “Having a borehole always gives a huge lift to a community’s national standing. No longer is Kapeshi just another scattered village somewhere in the African outback; it has status and it is firmly established on the government’s map. The crucial first stage in helping the development of any village is having clean water. The well also becomes the community’s focal point; a place where people congregate and gather for various social events.”
Wilmslow Wells for Africa has recently agreed to fund a further project in this area for the village of Kansanta – so watch this space!
Helping to bring in the water harvest, in Uganda.
A woman, living in a village in the Kyotera area of Uganda, has had her enterprise and determination rewarded by news of a grant to help her community retain supplies of clean water.
After surfing the internet, she discovered the charity, Wilmslow Wells for Africa, and she swiftly sent off an application for help to fund 15 rainwater catchment tanks for a community of 30 families.
Teo Nalubega, chairperson of the Mitukula Women’s Development Association, said in her e-mail that the tanks were “part of a project to improve on the general health situation of the rural women in Mitukula, and that of their families, through access to clean, safe water, (plus) sanitation and hygiene facilities.”
Teo added that, in a local village, people had only one water source and that a woman could expect to queue for up to five hours a day to collect a jerrycan of polluted water. She described diseases like malaria, cholera, typhoid and HIV/AIDS as being “rampant” with the nearest health centre being about 15 kilometres away.
We have reached the half million pound mark!
In the past month, we have reached the half million pound milestone! This is quite an achievement and the committee of Wilmslow Wells for Africa would like to thank all our loyal supporters for their kindness and generosity since 1983.
It took almost twenty years to reach a quarter of a million but it has only taken three and a half years to reach half a million! We are growing fast and in so doing we are now able to provide clean water for thousands of Africans each year.
However, the need remains acute, so please continue to help us so that, in turn, we are able to provide this most basic of facilities – clean water – for many more impoverished communities who are desperate to reduce the incidence of water-related diseases and to improve their livelihoods
Another record breaking Gardens Day
Torrential rain did not deter visitors from flooding into gardens across the district in support of Wilmslow Wells for Africa, raising a record £6,500. Around 300 supporters visited up to 20 beautiful gardens. Chairman Joanna Southgate thanked the gardeners and the public for their support when nearly 10mm of rain was recorded. She said “we are absolutely delighted with the result. We are so grateful to the gardeners for their Dunkirk spirit in preparing their gardens in very difficult weather conditions over the past few weeks and to the visitors who showed the same determined spirit.”
Over half a million raised since the charity began: annual report
Since the charity was founded, Wilmslow Wells for Africa has raised an amazing £532,689 the Treasurer, Roger Goddard reported at the Annual General Meeting, in October. This includes £80,224 in the year 2006/2007- the second best year in the charity’s history.
The charity has very few overheads thanks to the generosity of its committee members and supporters. Therefore, costs of only £1261 were incurred in the last financial year which included the printing of Christmas and gift cards, the production of WWA aprons and public liability insurance.
Since the charity began, 98.9% of all the money raised has been available for water projects in Africa. To date, over 90 projects have been implemented (a number involving multiple wells) which have brought improved health and prosperity to many thousands of Africans, a large number of whom live in remote, rural villages.
The report highlights the many ways in which the funds are raised: events like the Gardens Day, two Souperdays and a Barn Dance being regular fixtures. However, increasingly, we are receiving donations from supporters who wish to mark a significant birthday or wedding anniversary with a gift to the charity in lieu of presents from friends and family members. This year, we have, also, benefited from the generosity of several people who have embarked on sponsored challenges on our behalf.
An increasing number of people kindly make monthly donations, often supported by the Gift Aid Scheme. (Click on “Support Us” for more details.)