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A BRITISH charity that provides clean water in some of Tanzania’s poorest communities has been on a drive to raise awareness and funds in the UAE after reaching a landmark achievement.
The Poverty Relief Foundation (PRF) raises funds to build much-needed wells and water tanks in remote villages in the country’s north western Kagera region. The Yorkshire-based charity recently celebrated the construction of its 100th well in the East African country.
Founder Raymond Rowan, from Bradford in Yorkshire, took the opportunity to spread the word about the foundation’s cause during a trip to visit family in Abu Dhabi.
He said he would welcome donations from the UAE.
“Raising awareness of what we do is obviously key to attracting donations,” said Raymond, 73, whose son, daughter and granddaughter live in the capital.
“This year, I’m very happy to say, we reached a real milestone building our 100th well. When we started constructing the wells nine years ago, I never imagined we would reach even 50, so to get to 100 wells is beyond all expectations.
“The wells we build provide these communities with access to clean, safe water, and one of the major benefits of that is the reduction of water-borne diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea and bilharzia.
“Apart from saving lives, the children have less trips to the hospital, which means they can spend more time in school, and less sick days for the adults means they’re able to spend more time cultivating their land, growing crops.
“We want people to have a better life, and the most important thing in life is water. Water is life.”
Raymond, a semi-retired commercial property agent, runs the Poverty Relief Foundation with two colleagues, also based in the north of England. The three men met more than 30 years ago when they were all involved in the property industry.
Unlike many charities, PRF guarantees 100 percent of all money donated is used for funding the projects. No salaries or expenses – including postage, travel to Africa and telephone bills – are taken out of the charity, as these are paid for independently.
Collecting donations from individuals and companies, PRF ensures every penny is used for the projects. The wells are dug by hand by local people, who then appoint a committee to make sure they are maintained, cleaned and kept in good condition.
The water is freely available to the entire community, regardless of status, tribe or creed.
Each well, costing an average of 11,00 AED, is used by up to 500 families, each averaging eight members, meaning PRF has provided clean drinking water to at least 200,000 poverty-stricken men, women and children.
As well as fresh water projects, PRF also improves education by funding new classrooms, and provides “revolving loan” facilities for groups of women to set up their own businesses. The charity has to date built 10 permanent classrooms, some of them replacing makeshift shelters where the local children previously took their lessons, and others in villages where there were no educational facilities at all.
By providing classrooms PRF want to give the children an education, and a chance of making something of themselves so that they can escape poverty. Their existing classrooms are often little more than a thatched roof on wooden supports, exposed to the elements on all sides, with 50 or more children sitting on stones, with no desks or books.
“It’s such a shame when you’ve got all these children desperate to learn, without any facilities,” said Raymond.
Raymond, a grandfather-of-three, travels out to North West Tanzania each year to check existing projects, and inspect potential locations for new wells and classrooms.
PRF is keen to build on its success and raise the funds to extend its reach in the region – they recently expanded their work into neighbouring Shinyanga, and are keen to construct more wells and classrooms there as well as in Kagera.
Most of PRF’s donors are individuals and companies, who have the option of having their name included on a plaque attached to the well or classroom they’ve funded.
“On behalf of the people of Tanzania who’ve benefited from these projects, we thank all the people and companies that have kindly donated over the years,” said Raymond. “These donations have directly benefited some of the poorest communities in the world and bring great joy and happiness to many families.”
For more information on the Poverty Relief Foundation or to make a donation, visit www.prf.org.uk
Also, check out the charity’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/prf.org.uk
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