“First, a bit of background about how I got involved. I was North Devon and West Somerset area co-ordinator for Tearfund for many years. In 2007 Tearfund asked me to go to Burkina Faso, and there I saw how people, even in the capital, Ougadougou, had to collect water from where it had gathered in the ground. Water polluted by animals or inhabited by crocodiles. I saw children begging us for our empty water bottles so that they could collect urine and add it to the dirty water to try to get the washing a bit cleaner. I saw how much difference was made to villages that had a well. I saw a village called Oiussiga, where they had to walk 12 miles to get water. In early 2008 I went back to Burkina Faso with my 2 children, having raised the money to build and equip a dental surgery, and we raised enough money to install a well in Ouissiga.

In July 2008 I was giving a talk about this in a Christian hotel in Exmouth and I met Howard Measham. In 2005, Howard had witnessed the suffering and hardship faced by disadvantaged communities in Romania due to lack of clean water. This led him to place several of his own properties into a trust – the Measham Family Christian Foundation – solely to support relief work through the provision of clean water. However, this project was failing for various reasons. We chatted long into the night; I was aware that Tearfund was withdrawing funding for water projects in Africa and put Howard in contact with Tearfund and WellFound in its current format was born.

In 2017 I went to Guinea Bissau to see the work for myself. The projects are well thought out.  Villagers making small monetary contributions gives them a sense of ownership. Training various groups within each village in maintenance, horticulture and hygiene means that after three years the project is self-sufficient.

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One event that brought home the need for safe drinking water was when we were walking to one of the villages and I saw a huge crocodile slide down a riverbank into the water. If WellFound had not put a well into that village, children would have been collecting water from that river.

I have watched with interest as villages have prospered as a result of growing vegetables, enabling them to raise money for improving living standards by selling surplus produce. It is wonderful to receive updates via WhatsApp or social media. WellFound has a family atmosphere and it’s great to be part of it.

Clean, safe water is a basic necessity and the thought that so many people have to rely on dirty, polluted water, risking disease or even death is why I support WellFound. I try to raise awareness (and funds) by speaking in local churches and have become a W.I. speaker. I also speak in local schools on or around World Water Day. This year I have been invited to decorate a tree at the local Christmas tree festival.

I do not raise vast sums of money, but every little helps and raising awareness is so important. Water is the building block to raise people out of poverty. Once women and children no longer have to spend hours collecting water, the children have time to go to school. The women can grow vegetables to provide a more balanced diet and the surplus can be sold to pay for education, and education enables all kinds of opportunities. Improving the prosperity of a village can increase self-esteem, not only of the villagers, but of the donors too.”

 Thank you, Belinda, for introducing Howard to Tearfund, and for your ongoing support. You are an important member of the WellFound family.

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