Two Chippenham charities have helped complete a water well project in |Kenya.

Six members of the town's Rotary Club joined representatives of the Chippenham based charity, WellBoring to visit Kisumu County to celebrate the conclusion of their project to drill thirteen wells

Kisumu is a town located in Western Kenya beside Lake Victoria.

The club was the international coordinator of a £65,000 grant supported by Rotary Foundation; the Rotary Club’s own charity.

The grant was undertaken in conjunction with a partner club in Kenya, The Rotary Club of Kisumu.

It also included donations from six other Rotary clubs located in England, Wales, France and the United States.

The monies were raised by various activities by the Clubs.

These included a garden party, concerts, bog snorkelling, and the raffle of a 40-pound turkey at Thanksgiving in the United States.

“We are delighted to have completed over 100 wells at schools in East Africa and brought clean water to many thousands of children, their families and the local communities, " said Nigel Linacre of WellBoring.

"I would also like to thank all those in the Rotary clubs involved for their considerable efforts in making this significant clean water project in Kisumu a reality”

Rick Squires, who coordinated the grant and the Rotary club’s trip to Kenya, said:

"These clean water supplies have had a huge impact on the health of the children and the local population.

“It is really gratifying to see the strength of Rotary in action, both in developing the application for the grant, in raising the monies to complete this project, and also for the six Rotarians on this trip to visit some of the schools where the Rotary sponsored wells were commissioned.

"In total we have brought clean water to over 15 000 people in thirteen schools and the local communities.

"In the past they have been carrying water from rivers, streams or Lake Victoria, in some cases over long distances.

"At the schools, due to the significant reduction in water born illness such as cholera, absenteeism is reduced, attendance improved and there is a step change in academic performance.

"This project is a great example of Rotary’s motto of “Service above Self”"

he added.