Young Arsenal fan trains with football hero Héctor Bellerín in once in a lifetime opportunity, thanks to WaterAid
Arsenal fanatic Aariyan won the coveted prize after his mother, Banita Ludhor, entered WaterAid’s Priceless Prize Draw; a raffle offering a variety of top celebrity prizes to raise funds for the international development charity’s winter fundraising appeal, Untapped.
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Aariyan, who has been an Arsenal supporter since his family took him on a tour of the Emirates stadium at just three months old, now plays for his local Under 11’s team, the Valley Green Blizzards.
Now Aariyan is the envy of his team-mates having met his sporting idol for an exclusive 30-minute one-on-one training session. Hector, famous for his speedy skills on the pitch, put the youngster through his paces; helping him become a nine-a-side superstar.
WaterAid supporter Héctor Bellerín said:
"I am delighted that Aariyan, one of Arsenal’s biggest fans, won this prize. The fact that it is all for a good cause makes it even better. By donating to WaterAid’s raffle, Aariyan’s mum has helped raise vital funds to help bring clean water to those that need it most and helped change lives for good – that really is priceless."
Aariyan said:
"When mum told me she had won WaterAid’s prize of a training session with Héctor Bellerín for me, I was absolutely overjoyed! My whole family are all huge Arsenal fans and now I got to play with my absolute hero, I just can’t believe it – it’s like a dream come true."
Money raised from WaterAid’s Untapped appeal will help transform hundreds of thousands of lives by improving access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene in some of the world’s poorest communities. The work is being made possible with support from UK aid from the British people.
ENDS
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Notes to Editors:
WaterAid
WaterAid’s vision is of a world where everyone has access to clean water and sanitation. The international not-for-profit organisation works in 34 countries to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 25.8 million people with clean water and 25.1 million people with decent toilets. For more information, visit www.wateraid.org/uk, follow @WaterAidUK or @WaterAidPress on Twitter, or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wateraid.
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844 million people in the world – one in nine – do not have clean water close to home.[1]
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2.3 billion people in the world – almost one in three – do not have a decent toilet of their own.[2]
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Around 289,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation. That's almost 800 children a day, or one child every two minutes.[3]
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Every £1 invested in water and toilets returns an average of £4 in increased productivity.[4]
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Just £24 can provide one person with clean water.[5]
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To find out if countries are keeping their promises on water and sanitation, see the online database www.WASHwatch.org
[1] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG Baselines
[2] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG Baselines
[3] washwatch.org
[4] World Health organization (2012) Global costs and benefits of drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to reach the MDG target and universal coverage
