The Rotary Club of Peterborough has sent 60 LifeStraws to a village in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world and many children die from waterborne diseases before their fifth birthday as a result of drinking contaminated water.
The LifeStraw is a sealed, portable water purification unit that cleanses dirty water making it clean and safe to drink. A sufficient supply of LifeStraws, which can last a family for up to three years, has been sent to ensure that there is one for every family in the village.
The LifeStraws cost £1,800 with £1,000 raised by the Rotary Club of Peterborough’s Golf Day and a grant of £800 from the local Rotary District. Peterborough Rotarians transported the LifeStraws to the airport and free air transportation was organised through a fellow Rotarian from the Rotary Club of Banbury.
Once in Sierra Leone only a nominal amount was paid for transport by ferry and road to the village from Lungi Airport in Freetown. A man who lives in the village, Hassan, is teaching the families how to use them, having himself been taught by fellow Rotarian, David Wallwork, who took a LifeStraw over on a previous visit.
