We are proud to provide a sustainable, affordable, clean and safe water supply and to manage and treat the waste water returned to us in a way that protects the environment.
02/10/2008
A local water worker has witnessed a daily battle for survival in one of the world’s poorest countries.
Essex & Suffolk Water employee, Liz Scott, was one of 12 UK water company representatives who travelled to Uganda, in Africa, as part of a charity expedition with the water industry’s adopted international charity, WaterAid.
Uganda, where the life expectancy is 48, has a population of 25.9 million. Disease is widespread and only 60% of the population have access to clean, safe water and only 40% have a safe place to go to the toilet.
Thirty year old Liz, who grew up in Wickford and now lives in Boreham, all in Essex, spent ten days witnessing first hand what it is like to survive without sanitation and clean water.
WaterAid has worked in Uganda for 25 years and to date has helped over 920,000 people gain access to clean, safe water, effective sanitation and hygiene promotion.
Liz, who works as an assistant hydrologist in Essex & Suffolk Water’s water resources team at Hanningfield, spent a day living with a family in a deprived rural village, who get their drinking water from a disease ridden stagnant pool and, also live without sanitation and other basics that we take for granted every day.
The group were also taken on a visit to city slums in Masindi where they met some of the 10,000 children who live on the streets of Ugandan cities.
In contrast, Liz also witnessed the huge difference WaterAid’s water, sanitation and hygiene education projects have made to peoples’ lives when they visited villages where the charity’s work is in progress or has been completed.
Liz, said: “The trip was a roller coaster of emotion for me, from the helplessness of seeing how children in the slums survive everyday without clean water for drinking or sanitation, to the positive work that WaterAid is doing in providing clean drinking water and effective sanitation and educating people about the importance of personal hygiene.
“I am now very determined to help as much as I can to raise awareness and much needed money for the people in Uganda. My next fundraising activity will be on January, 4 2009, when I will be participating in the ‘Mad Maldon Mud Race’ and will be collecting sponsorship via www.justgiving.com/lizgoingmadinmud.”
If you are involved in a community group, Liz would be delighted to come along and show you pictures and share her stories of her trip of a lifetime to Uganda.
For further information on the work of WaterAid, go to www.wateraid.org/uganda, or to arrange an interview with Liz, or for further information, contact Carolyn King on 0191 3016722.
WaterAid Facts
• Clean water is essential for life, but over a billion people in the world do not have it. This and the lack of sanitation result in over two million people dying from water-related diseases every year. The lack of clean water close to people's homes also affects people's time, livelihoods and quality of life.
• WaterAid works in 17 of the world's poorest countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific region. These countries are Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia in Africa; Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan in Asia; and Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste in the Pacific region.
• Since it’s creation in 1981, WaterAid has given more than 8 million people in Africa, Asia and the Pacific Region a helping hand to a better, healthier and happier life.
• It only costs £15 to provide one person with a lasting supply of safe water, effective sanitation and hygiene education for life.