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The launch of the Water for Life project at Chamboree 2010 exceeded Lubwe Fund organisers expectations:

·                                 Around 800 cubs and more than 3000 Scouts, Explorers and Leaders listened to a presentation and began to understand the issues

·                                 Leaving the site the Lubwe Fund had £1489.82 in donations for bottled water, with the first bottle filled with coins being returned by one Scout Troop on the last     day – Thank You!

·                                 Many thanks to Berrington Spring, Impact brands and Flexistore who filled, labelled and transported 2000 bottles of water to Chamboree F.O.C.

·                                 If you are using your empty water bottle to collect money following Chamboree details are now below of what to do with it.

·                                 We have still have some water available for those interested in running a Global Challenge project. Thanks to Davenham Scouts have booked 80 bottles for their project already!

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Launching at Chamboree 2010 Cheshire Scouts begin a Global challenge to improve drinking water in Zambia. The intention was simple, to leave something worthwhile as a legacy of another great Chamboree. We hope that this can become an ongoing project for all sections looking at the Global aspects of their normal programme.

A few facts to explain why we chose this challenge from the seeming endless possibilities…

1. One-sixth of the people on earth are without safe water

o                                In Africa, less than half of the people have access to improved water and sanitation

o                                30,000 people die everyday from diseases related to bad water

o                                It’s not just Africa, but in Asia and all over the world

2. 80% of sickness and death among Young People is caused by unsafe water

·                                 Worldwide a child dies every 15 seconds from poor sanitation and water supply

·                                 In Zambia one in five children die before they are 5 years old

3. In most cultures it’s the women and especially the young people who carry the water

·                                 It’s very hard work, water weighs 1kg/litre and you need  at least 4 litres every day

·                                 It takes time and the major reason why children drop out of school by 11 in many cultures

4. In Britain we don’t see this much, we just turn on the tap!

·                                 Cholera killed many people in Victorian Britain

·                                 Clean water here costs £135 per house more than the annual income of many people in the developing world

"The good news is that it’s fixable, by the people who live there,
with just a little help from us"

5. It doesn’t need a lot of technology

·                                 Technology may cost a lot and can be difficult to maintain in the developing world

·                                 Assuming finite resources the cheapest safe solution is the best… it will simply help the most people

6. A little education and understanding really helps

·                                 Where to collect the water so that it’s safe

·                                 How to avoid contaminating your water in the future

·                                 What maintenance is needed to keep things safe

7. A lot of the problems come from drinking water collected in shallow open wells which are easily contaminated

·                                 If you allow the water to sink through 30 to 50 metres of earth this acts as a very effective “free” filter removing most of the problems

·                                 It also helps to protect you in times of drought

·                                 The challenge is always to get at the underground clean water

Ok, the questions…. how are we going to try and help?

We’ve teamed up with the Cheshire charity – The “Lubwe-Zambia fund" to provide wells in a very poor region of Africa

1. What do they do?

·                                 They provide the funds to dig safe wells using local people and appropriate technology

·                                 They provide the pump to put on top of the well which brings the clean water to the surface. The water is where it’s needed, zero miles to carry it

·                                 They provide the basic maintenance to make sure it continues to give benefit for a lifetime

2. What does it cost?

·                                 To hand dig a well, and put a pump on the top costs around £1000, half the costs being the pump

3. How many people will this help

·                                 One well supplies around 1500 people for life

·                                 67p per person

4. What can we do?

·                                 Understand the problem

·                                 Help raise some funds

·                                 Spread the word that it’s a fixable problem

5. How are we going to raise some cash?

·                                 At Chamboree 2010 we are selling bottled water from the GDV

·                                 The bottle, water, label, transport… has been donated

·                                 All 2000 bottles sold @ £1 will rasie £2000 and dig 2 wells

·                                 On going, we hope that you might consider a little fund raising as part of your Global program

What might we say to the sceptics?

Q "Charities all have huge overheads spending most of our donation?"
A "This charity meets all of it’s costs by private donation, 100% of money given to dig wells will do just that"

Q "Why this charity, not…"
A "It’s local Cheshire based, it’s aims are simple, if you want to support another project that’s fine"

What do we do if want to get further involved?

Members of the Global Zone team from Chamboree 2010 want to continue with this project as far as we can

Last modified: 08-01-12