****NEWSFLASH DECEMBER 2011*****
Today I received a message from Dave Birch at Fujitsu - To Cathy Clapinson and all her friends, I wish to thank you for your donation of £1081 to the One Foundation charity.
This is an update to let you know that the PlayPump, that you helped fund, was installed on December 12 at the Shannon Combined Independent School near Bloemfontein in South Africa.
The school has 317 children and 17 teachers. They were desperate for water to drink and also grow vegetables so they can feed their orphans. Before the PlayPump, their water was delivered but it was never regular or reliable.
Thanks to your efforts the children now have reliable water. In recognition of this, I asked them to install a permanent plaque on the water tower.
A small part of Africa is now forever linked with Cathy, her friends and our small cycling team.
Dave Birch, Fujitsu, 16/12/2011.
****NEWSFLASH JANUARY 2011****
Dave and the Fujitsu Cycle Team have now managed to raise the funds for the 3rd Playpump, which will be installed in Malawi later this year. I am so proud of them, and happy that my contribution helped. They are busy organising another fundraising cycle to visit the new pump later on this year, and have asked me to go with them. I will have to consider that, as I am not very adventurous, but would be thrilled to see it in action. We shall see!
Many thanks to everyone who has donated to this cause - give yourself a pat on the back!
****NEWSFLASH AUGUST 2010****
I have been trying (not hard enough) to raise the money for this playpump for 3 years now, and failing! So now I am joining forces with a team from Fujitsu who have already raised the money for two PlayPumps, and are on the way to getting their third, which will be installed in Malawi in 2011 - and my name will be joining theirs on the pump! I am SO excited!! To see how amazingly well they have done so far visit
http://www.justgiving.com/PlayPump2010
This has inspired me to have another go at fundraising - so watch out... I am after your money!
Thanks to Dave Birch who has invited me to join his merry team - not sure how much good I will be, but the heart is in the right place!
Since turning 50 in May 2007, I have increasingly felt that the years are galloping by, and my life has lacked real achievement (apart from the usual married with children stuff).
I have decided to spend my spare time (!!) raising money for a project that will benefit someone else long after I am gone.
I was inspired by something I saw on an awards programme on TV. One man, Duncan Goose, had given up his job and started a company that brings water to Africa in an ingenious way. He, and a friend had designed a method of pumping the water that lay deep beneath the earth, into storage chambers, using a children’s roundabout! So once the Play Pump is installed, as the children of any particular village play on the roundabout, they are inadvertently pumping the vital water up into tanks, and when their Mum turns on the tap, the water is delivered!
Because of my links with the Parks and Open Spaces section of Coventry City council, I decided that this was the perfect project for me. I write press releases concerning new roundabout installations locally, and this is just another roundabout in another country.
I discovered that the company that is carrying out this wonderful work, is also selling bottled water in garages and supermarkets here, in order to raise vital funds to install more “Play Pumps” in Africa. The water is called One, and has a red heart on the bottle. Choosing this water means that you are contributing to another Play Pump, each of which cost £7,500.
So - £7,500 is my target! I worked out that if all the employees at Coventry City Council gave 50p, then the pump would be paid for! How simple is that? I realise that not everyone will want to contribute, and a lot of people who DO want to, will be too busy to take the time and effort involved in getting their 50p to me – I work in a very busy office and I know how difficult it is to find enough hours in the day to meet deadlines. But I would urge you to have a simple whip round in your office, and give me a bell, and I will trot over in my lunch hour and collect. PLEASE try and support this worthy cause, and together we can do something worthwhile. This is the first of many annoying emails trying to take your money off you – so be prepared! I am not going to stop until I have reached the target. I would love this play pump to have the name of Coventry City Council against it as sole sponsor, but if it appears that I am not raising enough money, then I will go outside the council – but I would rather not do that.
Thanks for your time -and your money, hopefully!
If you would like to look at the website and see for yourself the wonderful work going on, please visit www.onewater.org.uk or to see the Playpump in action, and learn more about the background to the project visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMs_Z80JYls
Cathy
Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. Please dig deep and sponsor me online.
Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: The One Foundation will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.
So please sponsor me now!
Many thanks for your support.
