A teacher from Winstanley College has been honoured and thanked by villagers more than 6000 miles away.
Fran Pridham, who teaches English at the College, raised £3000 for a clean water system at Filemahana, a small, poor and remote community in Madagascar, after going on a holiday to Madagascar and seeing the desperate needs of the locals.
Fran worked with a small charity called the Madagascan Development Fund that specialise in small achievable projects. They use the villagers as labourers so that they know how the water system works and also ask the village to provide any materials they can, such as stones, in order for them to feel they have ownership for the well.
Many of the villagers, the Mayor of the town, the head of the village, local MPs and national TV attended a joyous ceremony to officially thank Fran. It took place by one of the five new standpipes which have been installed thanks to her fundraising and featured a lively, local band playing drums and wind instruments (with flutes made, ingeniously, from lengths of plastic plumbing pipe).
At the ceremony the head of the village said: “The new system has transformed the lives of the people and we offer our heartfelt thanks to Fran for her generosity.”
He also talked of the hardship that they had endured before the new water system was installed, particularly the time and effort needed to collect water several times each day from up to half an hour’s walk away, the frequent illnesses caused by drinking polluted water and the practical difficulties of keeping themselves and their clothes clean.
The local MP Madame Celestine added: “The new system is nothing less than a miracle and a dream come true. I cannot find words adequate to express our appreciation for this life-changing project.”
Fran said: “I was deeply touched by the friendship I was shown during my Madagascar holiday and really wanted to help bring clean water to a poor community. I was inspired when, bottled water in hand, I met an old man and his grandson walking five miles back to their village with the water they'd collected. The money that I raised was more than enough for the well so the charity used the surplus to provide school benches in a small school. I’m so thrilled by the impact the money has had that I’m going to start fundraising now for another well!”
Anyone wishing to donate to Fran’s new project can do so at:http://uk.virginmoneygiving.