'Water for life' team bring hope

Actually turning these ideas into hard reality requires a whole lot more from everyone involved.

So much for the theory: the good news is that one of the most satisfying examples of these principles being employed to make a real difference in people’s lives has been taking shape right here in Northern Ireland for the past decade and more.

The recipients of these endeavours are: thousands of men, women and children living in rural villages in Uganda. The group involved in making this difference is called 'The Water for Life team' a group that are passionate about giving the life changing gift of clean water to vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.

Commencing about 12 years ago,– this Water for Life team with its roots deeply embedded in rural and business communities across Northern Ireland - has managed to raise over £1m, every penny of which has been used to improve the lives of people across Uganda through the delivery of fresh water.

All this money has been secured on the back of local donations and specifically organised fund raising events. The Water for Life team are simply a group of individuals raising funds to support and further the work of local charity, Fields of Life, a Christian organisation, which started in NI almost 30 years ago. Originally the work involved the building of schools and providing a quality education for children in Uganda but, over a period of time it became obvious that another incredibly important pressing need - not just in Uganda - but across the whole of east Africa, was the provision of clean water to outlying, rural communities.

The ‘Water for Life’ campaign was conceived after a group from the local business and farming community went to see the work of Fields of Life in Uganda. When they returned home, they committed to support the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) division of Fields of Life. To date this specific fundraising initiative has funded two drilling rigs and supported the digging of countless wells.

Without this commitment thousands of people would still be making the daily journey of up to 5km, sometimes numerous times a day, to a dirty, contaminated water source to collect water for their families. This arduous task often falls to women and young children and the water source they are collecting from, is very often shared with animals. Although knowing that this water will make their children sick, they have no other choice but to make this journey.

Fields of Life does, and will continue to, work with family and village groups throughout East Africa in both fresh water supply and education (over 120 schools have also been built since the charity began)

The Water for Life team do not want personal recognition for the work that they do. They simply want to make that all important difference of fresh clean for people in genuine need.

A recent Water for Life steak night held in Armagh City Hotel, raised an amazing £78,847.

This is further testimony of the spirit that exists here in Northern Ireland, amongst all our communities, to help those in greatest need. And long may this continue.

The Water for Life Team would like to take this opportunity of saying a sincere ‘Thank You’ to all those people – almost 500 - who made the event in Armagh such a success. They also want to acknowledge the huge support they have received from their many sponsors, donors and supporters on the night and over the 12 years.

For the record, the present team which has evolved over the years comprises: Neville Woods, Richard Moore, Roy Lyttle, David Johnston and Angus Wilson. They say none of their efforts would be a success without the huge support of Helen Darcy and the rest of the Fields of Life team in NI and of course the FOL team in Uganda who are heroes that work tirelessly travelling from village to village, drilling wells and giving the life changing gift of clean water

Tony Gaston, CEO of Fields of Life commented: “The Water for Life event was a fun and engaging night with delicious food, great company, and laugh-out-loud entertainment, raising vital funds to provide clean water to communities in East Africa. We are so thankful to the Water for Life team, volunteers, and everyone who attended to make the night such a great success. Thank you to everyone who has supported the team over the last 12 years to give the most life changing gift to rural communities, fresh, clean water.”