Dig into your pockets for water wells!

It may seem a daunting task by Dr Babikir Ismail is determined that the charity he has  helped launched will provide 1,000 wells for the impoverished of Dafur by the end of 2008 – and he’s only got 980 to go!

Consultant Pathologist Dr Babikir Ismail of the Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust is one of a small group of Sudanese doctors who work in the NHS and are dedicated to alleviating the suffering of the Sudanese people.  Clean water is crucial, and easy access to water is currently almost impossible - but easy access is vital.  Access is so hard that many children cannot go to school but spend their day walking very long distances for 4 – 6 hours just to get a few litres of water for their families.

Each well costs approximately £2,500 to dig.  The water is hand pumped, no electricity is required, the wells are very low maintenance and each well is run by a village committee who ask villagers to donate 25p a month per household towards the well’s running costs.

Said Dr Ismail: “Water is a basic human need.  Children and pregnant women are the hardest hit – lack of easy access to water creates a lot of suffering.  Infant mortality is 20 times higher than in the UK and drinking water from sources contaminated by water born diseases like bilharzias, onchoceriasis, dysentery, malaria and hepatitis are the main causes of infant and maternal mortality in the Sudan. Every 15 seconds a child dies as a result of a water-borne disease.”

Dr Ismail (pictured here) is the Chairman and a Trustee of the charity, Sudan Water Grant for Incapacitated Areas (SUWGIA) charity number: 1100365, which is registered in England and Wales.  To find out more go to:

www.suwgia.com and www.suwgia.co.uk.  Details can also be found at: charity-commission.gov.uk.

Anyone interested in supporting the work of the charity can make donations in different ways: by cheque to Consultant Pathologist Dr Babikir Ismail,  Pathology Laboratory, St. Peter’s Hospital, Guildford Road, Chertsey, Surrey. KT16 0PZ; or through the website PayPal facility or preferably of a direct debit of £2, £5 or £10.  Cheques and direct debit forms can be sent to:

SUGWIA

P.O.Box 338

Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

NE3 3QG.