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BBC Lifeline Appeal
In November actor and WaterAid supporter Nigel Havers presented a BBC Lifeline Appeal showing our work in Mozambique. Here, Suzanne Fenwick who joined the filming trip shares the story of Margarida who she met. I met Margarida, whose daughter and father had died from cholera, when we went to the urban slum of Costa do Sol, by the sea near to Mozambique's capital, Maputo. Her story was so sad and unbelievable in this day when it is so easy to take healthcare for granted. Margarida's precious daughter, Rosa, was just six months old when she died. To hear her say "My daughter wouldn't have died if there had been clean water," brought a lump to my throat and my heart went out to her and her family. To lose a child to a preventable water-related disease must be devastating and heartbreaking. As you may already be aware, in poor countries around the world two million people, mainly children, die unnecessarily every year simply because they don't have access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation; a shocking statistic. There are over 14,000 people in the urban slum that Margarida lives in and none of them has access to clean, safe water. The sad fact is that Rosa could still be alive today if the community had access to safe water - and Margarida knows this. The good news is that thanks to the commitment of supporters like you, WaterAid plans to start work in Costa do Sol this year. It will be wonderful to see her smile again when there is safe, clean water in her village. On behalf of WaterAid, I'd like to thank everyone for donating to the BBC Lifeline Appeal and making it such a success. To date £50,000 has been raised which is enough to help us to provide over 3000 people with safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. If you watched the programme and would like to donate please call 0845 330 8400 or visit www.wateraid.org/life Suzanne Fenwick is WaterAid's Supporter Development Officer. |
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