by Fern Shaw | Mar 16, 2023 | Africa Trust, Water Coolers
As you know, here at AquAid we tend not to err on the side of caution when talking about water. Especially drinking water. Clean, fresh drinking water in Africa, where millions of people do not have access to the life giving stuff as we do. It may seem a bit negative, but that isn’t really the case.
These two articles are case in point.
The first, from The Daily Mail, reads:
‘Huge reserves of underground water in some of the driest parts of Africa could provide a buffer against the effects of climate change for years to come, scientists said.
Researchers from the British Geological Survey and University College London have for the first time mapped the aquifers, or groundwater, across the continent and the amount they hold.
‘The largest groundwater volumes are found in the large sedimentary aquifers in the North African countries Libya, Algeria, Egypt and Sudan,’ the scientists said in their paper.’
The other, from The Telegraph, states:
‘Scientists using technology developed to search for oil have discovered a vast underground water reservoir in one of Kenya’s driest regions that if properly managed could supply the country’s needs for close to 70 years.
Researchers from a French-American firm, Radar Technologies International, worked with the Kenyan government and UNESCO to layer satellite, radar and geological maps on top of each other, and then used seismic techniques developed to find oil to identify the reservoir.
It lies in Kenya’s extreme northwest, close to its borders with South Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda. The area is sparsely populated and prone to conflict over existing scarce resources.’
See, now, this is actually marvellous news, but with this, a word of caution:
“But knowing there’s water there, and then getting it to the surface, are two different things …” Brian McSorley, a water expert at Oxfam in Nairobi, said.
And therein lays the rub. Deep underground there is potable water – even in the Sahara Desert – but reaching it can be problematic.
That’s why sustainable, practical and cost-effective solutions are important. One such solution that has been in operation for over a decade now, addressing this exact problem, can be found through The Africa Trust. A charity started by AquAid and Ian Thorpe. One of the many solutions that this award-winning organisation provides is the building of Elephant Pumps throughout disadvantaged communities across Africa.
No, they don’t use real elephants. The Elephant Pump is a water pump based on an ancient Chinese design. The pump has been adapted to make it stronger and more durable. It is built from and maintained using materials that are locally available in remote rural sub-Saharan African communities. The design and build of these pumps is such that 95% are still in operation today – a figure 40% above the average for the continent.
If you are interested in installing high-quality water coolers in your organisation, which not only dispense refreshing drinking water for your entire staff contingent but also ensure automatic donations that fund the provision of sustainable water projects for thousands of communities, contact us here at AquAid Water Coolers today.
by Fern Shaw | Jul 16, 2019 | Africa Trust, water cooler, Water Coolers
Irrespective of whether or not you believe in climate change, there’s no denying that the stats resulting from the radically changing weather patterns year on year or the crucial drop in natural water supply globally speak volumes:
844 Million People – 1 in 10 – lack access to safe water.
200 Million Hours are spent every day collecting water.
2.3 Billion People – 1 in 3 – lack access to a toilet.
One third of the global population lives without access to a toilet.
The ramifications of these stats and the volume of people it affects can seem quite daunting in terms of how to address this global issue. There is good news though: there are multiple organisations around the world that continue, every day, to provide sustainable solutions to the lack of water as well as adequate sanitation to those in need.
Sustainability may seem like the buzz word of the millennium – bandied about without much meaning, but the truth of it is – sustainability is vital in the provision of water and sanitation to those for who access to water is an ongoing fight for actual survival.
Sustainable water projects are those that include both short term and long term solutions which pave the way forward by enabling a community to begin water related projects that may provide them with a capacity to earn an income or to trade their produce or services to others.
There’s much truth in the adage, ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime’, but before we implement this philosophy, help is needed to provide water to communities that more often than not, do not have the most basic of infrastructures for a steady supply of water.
That’s why here at AquAid Water Coolers we have, since our humble beginnings more than two decades ago, partnered with charities that not only provide emergency relief but also sustainable solutions to poverty around the globe, as is the case with Christian Aid and in the case of the Africa Trust, throughout Africa.
To learn more about the work that these organisations carry out, visit us at our website and see how your water and water cooler purchases are making a visible positive difference to others. Alternatively, if you are not yet an AquAid customer, but would like to find out more about how your drinking water translates into sustainable clean water provision for people in need, please contact us: we’ll be delighted to assist.
by Fern Shaw | Dec 7, 2018 | Africa Trust, aquaid tyne wear
This well-established AquAid branch opened its doors in 2002 and is now in its 16th year of operations.
AquAid Tyne & Wear is a family run company: recently, Ryan Dobson, son to owners Gordon (pictured above) & Emir Dobson, has joined the team and by all accounts is doing really well.
The Dobson’s family values dovetail well with those of AquAid itself. These values include the consistent support through 
donations to sustainable charities, a practise integral to AquAid’s operations since the company’s inception in 1998.
Recently the branch received a certificate of contribution which is in recognition of a total donation figure in the amount of £351,000 – a significant achievement by all accounts.
But AquAid Tyne & Wear aren’t just about helping those in need on far flung continents gain access to a better life. Along with their support and donations to Christian Aid & the Africa Trust, they also want to contribute locally.
As we know, December is a busy time for everyone, after a hard year, people are all about enjoying themselves and celebrating, as they should. That said, AquAid Tyne & Wear are also aware that this time of year also finds many people locally who are less fortunate and struggling quite a bit.
Ashley Harris, Media and Sales Manager at AquAid Tyne & Wear, takes up the story, “Its with this in mind that we, collectively within the company, are donating toys to children in our area who will not get these from their family at Christmas, this is via the local Salvation Army. In addition we are also helping homeless people in the North East via the local HOPE Charity with our donations of warm clothes, food, cushions, sleeping bags and anything that we think will make a difficult life easier during this cold period.
We have taken this a step further, throughout 2019 we will be putting together a monthly HOPE box for the local HOPE Charity which will include food, blankets and clothing and in the summer we will include sun cream, to mention but a few items!
Everyone in the company is more than happy to get involved as sometimes you just do not know how lucky you are!
We are hoping once our customers are aware of what we are doing they might want to join us in the HOPE box.”
To find out more about how your custom translates into ongoing charity support or how to go about donating to either HOPE or the Salvation Army in the North East, contact one of the friendly team at AquAid Tyne & Wear – they’ll be pleased to assist.
by Fern Shaw | Jul 24, 2018 | Africa Trust, water cooler, Water Coolers
There’s a quote in a meme that’s been doing the rounds on social media for a few years now. It shows a group of women and girls carrying water in containers balancing on their heads taken as they walk towards the photographer. The quote reads:
People experience a lack of water resources, access to water and prolonged drought across the globe, and although we may have all needed to fetch and carry water at times throughout our lives, for millions of people this is not a temporary situation but a daily occurrence.
According to a 2007 report from FAO around 2 billion people, or almost one-fifth of the world’s population, live in areas of scarcity. Another 1.6 billion people, or almost one quarter of the world’s population, face economic water shortage (where countries lack the necessary infrastructure to take water from rivers and aquifers).
As an example, in drought stricken regions throughout Africa, like in rural Zimbabwe, most households have to travel up to 7 miles to the nearest water source.
There is hope though, with organisations across the world committed to combating dire water shortages brought about by climate change and other natural phenomenon.
Two such organisations are Christian Aid and the Africa Trust. Working alongside stakeholders such as AquAid, these two charities have for decades provided solutions that bring clean water to thousands of communities around the globe.
If you are interested in finding out how having a water cooler from AquAid provides access to clean water to people in need, for life, please get in touch. We would be delighted to assist.
by Fern Shaw | Jul 16, 2018 | Africa Trust, Christian Aid, Water, water cooler, Water Coolers
As the temperatures soar throughout the UK, so does the demand for chilled, refreshing drinking water.
At AquAid, where we’ve been in the business of providing a range of high quality water coolers and water both spring and bottled at source for over 20 years, we understand this more than most. That’s why it’s important to us to be able to ensure that we’re able to offer the very best in both water dispensers and bottled water.
But we’re not just about the provision on water coolers – we also firmly believe that providing water to those that may not necessarily have access to water as we do – is absolutely vital.
If we struggle with keeping hydrated in this heat, take a minute and imagine what it would be like experiencing hot weather but not having access, not only to drinking water, but any water, at all. Sadly, this is a reality for millions of people across the globe, and in particular, in many Third World countries.
Then, to this rather scary scenario, add this: If you want drinking water, you need to walk to find it. And not just down to the corner caf, but a few miles. If you’re lucky enough to find a water source, you can’t just buy a bottle of water (or any liquid for that matter); you have to fill the bucket that you brought with you and walk back home, carrying the now full bucket.
Not enough Bear Grylls for you? The water that you’ve just fetched is most likely not fresh, not clean and may be so full of bacteria, that even while trying to hydrate yourself, you may very well be making yourself ill without even realising it.
Remember, this is just water for you (and possibly, members of your family) to drink. This is not water that is needed to wash your clothes or your dishes or to water your meagre produce crop with. This is just water to drink to keep you going. This is basic human survival type of stuff.
This is the day to day existence for many communities throughout the Third World and in the summer months, lack of potable water is amplified by the heat.
That’s just one of the reasons, since our rather humble beginnings in 1998, that we chose to work with sustainable charities like the Africa Trust and Christian Aid. Using donations from AquAid, both charities work tirelessly implementing sustainable water projects for communities in need.
So, although we’re always tooting our own horn about being one of the top water cooler providers in the U.K. we also (truly) believe in helping others less fortunate to help themselves. So, while we have you to thank, most valued customer, for your support and through your purchases making it possible for others to help themselves; isn’t it rather nice to know that when you’re sipping cool spring water from one of our water coolers, there’s another water well or water project being installed in Africa, bringing fresh, clean drinking water to yet another community in need?
I think so. Good on yer. Toot toot!
by Fern Shaw | Jun 4, 2018 | Africa Trust, aquaid, Charity, Water Coolers
Begun in 2010, the Africa Trust is an AquAid founded charity that works on the principles of wealth creation and sustainable solutions to poverty.
Since our rather humble beginnings in 1998 as a home water cooler supplier, until now, as one of the UK’s leading water cooler suppliers, helping people in need has always been an integral aspect of the AquAid ethos.
Now, in our 20th year of operations, we look back at the annual milestones that evidence the successes of our commitment to charity.
2017 IN REVIEW:
The total number of beneficiaries at the start of 2017 was 2,192,435 and 209,908 new beneficiaries were added by the end of the year. A total of 683 new pumps were installed in 2017 compared to 607 in 2016. Most of these pumps were installed in Zimbabwe with five pumps built in Tanzania and one built in Kenya.
The Africa Trust’s Elephant Pump programme is having a major positive impact on the lives of over a million Zimbabweans who collect clean drinking water and water for productive use every day. Aside from 683 new pumps installed last year, the Africa Trust continues to implement sustainable wealth creation projects. Examples are an income generating farm project which now provides a sustained and growing income stream that helps towards the cost of emergency relief. A dairy project and the bananas for fees projects continue to grow with 510 new beneficiaries added.
The Africa Trust also implements wealth creation and sustainable relief projects in:
Kenya: A business skills training programme continues to grow. One such new business started under the programme (a maize mill) now employs over a dozen HIV+ widows who would otherwise have been in desperate poverty following their husbands’ deaths due to AIDS.
Liberia: Positive feedback received about the pumps and toilets installed in previous years. A school was helped to become self-sufficient by starting a project to raise ducks and chickens.
Mozambique: The ‘Baby’ Elephant Pumps installed for use by smaller family communities are doing well.
Tanzania: Elephant Pumps; Elephant Toilets; Business Skills Training.
Uganda: Business skills training; job creation; retirement planning (thus helping break the cycle of poverty).
Contact us at AquAid to find out how becoming an AquAid customer equates to ensuring sustainable solutions to poverty and the provision of safe drinking water to those who need it most.
