Saving Lives and Our Heritage Too – The Plumbers’ Charity
Our Charity, with assistance from three of the good causes it supports through your donations, Aquabox, Village-by-Village and the Plumbers’ Museum Workshop Trust, showed what they do at home and abroad in an excellent on-line presentation on 23 March 2021.
The Plumber’s Charity supports various causes and aims to donate between £40k and £45k a year to them. To say thank you to all of you who do support it, three of its main benefactors showcased their work. We have included some screen shots from the presentation and, at the foot of this news item, a video of the presentation, with inclusive videos from Aquabox and Village-by-Village.
Village by Village
Village by Village was set up in 2006 with a focus on primary school children in Ghana to teach them to wash their hands regularly under the mantra “clean hands saves lives”.
Anna Kotsonouris from the charity explained how their work has expanded into clinics and into the provision of clean water and sanitation and how the local communities help build, run and maintain the facilities. It has helped some 35 to 40,000 people in rural locations across the country in the last 5 years and significantly reduced the mortality rate. The mantra is now “clean water saves lives” and it is looking to build a generational change through these wonderful community partnerships.
Aquabox
Now 20 years old and based in Derbyshire with links to the local Rotary Club, Aquabox first formed to provide water sanitising tablets. Bea Jagger from the charity described how they now assemble and distribute life-saving water filters to disaster areas around the globe, both natural and man-made and to areas requiring permanent support.
Large community filters and individual ones that a single family can use in a refugee tent have been sent to countries like Syria, Yemen and Nepal, along with other small aid items and clothing that can be fitted into the filter boxes. She estimated that the filters supplied through the Plumbers’ donations alone have provided an astonishing 100 million litres of clean water and it is looking to greatly expand its operations in a new depot in Derbyshire, with many more filters to be assembled there. Whilst the figure looks impressive, it is a drop in the ocean compared to the total global requirement.
COVID has a huge impact on both charities ability to move volunteers and equipment to where they are needed in the last year. Aquabox has been aided considerably by the international Rotary Club organisation and its contacts, but both charities would welcome further support in this area. Can you help?
Plumbers’ Museum and Workshop Trust
Past Master Steve Hodkinson, a trustee of the Plumbers’ Charity and a Director of the Plumbers’ Workshop Trust described the role of the workshop in demonstrating and teaching lead casting skills, which are essential to maintaining our heritage of historic buildings and keeping the ancient craft alive. It is no exaggeration to say that without these skills being maintained and passed on many of our famous buildings would not survive.
Now based at the open air museum at Amberley in West Sussex, the volunteers there have made numerous lead cast items, of which lead planters are their most visible products. Examples of their work can be found at Buckingham Palace, Sandringham House and the Guildhall in London……and indeed in many people’s gardens for those who bought the 650th anniversary planters with all proceeds going to the trust.
The workshop only survives through the good work of its supporters and volunteers. If you would like to help and perhaps even learn a new skill, the Trust would love to hear from you.
The Chairman of the Trustees, Past Master Charles Yuill thanked the presenters and all those who helped facilitate the excellent presentation, notably Liveryman James Dalton and his son Ben. He also thanked all those watching who donated regularly to the charity…… but if every member were to set aside just a small monthly amount or leave a legacy, the impact on the charity’s ability to help these causes and many more would be hugely enhanced. You can even set up donations through Amazon Smile for all your on-line purchases at no extra cost.
To see how you can donate, please click on the charity logo below. Every penny really does help.
