Today, Friday 20th July, day 33 of 93, the end of week five of 12, YOU, helped us break through a major milestone in our fundraising target.
That milestone: £1,000,000!
THANK YOU, or as they would say in Bokola and Kaniche, ZIKOMO KWAMBIRI
To be precise, as I write this the totaliser stands at £1,024,108. Meaning we’re less than £90,000 worth of supporters kind gifts (which will be doubled to £180,000) away from being able to bring clean water, safe toilets and all the amazing things that come from having these basic services in place, to 134,000 people across the rural areas of Malawi. Utterly, utterly phenomenal.
Earlier today we sent the news to Bokola and Kaniche and I know that they’d ask me to send each and every person who has in some way supported The Big Dig project, their warmest, most deepest gratitude because now they know that very soon their lives will change forever.
I can’t help but share the message I received from my colleague Boyce Nyirenda. Boyce is responsible for the work happening in Malawi, and he is clearly delighted, “Whoooo! Absolutely exciting news Angharad. YOU people are our heros and I wish you could have been here to see our celebrations. It’s nearly dawn for the communities of Bokola and Kaniche; darkness has almost gone past. The agonies of sickness are nearly over now, what an achievement. You have all done it for us and how we thank you for all you have done. I have passed on the news to Michael and Nathan and we are all smiles here.”
It’s a big day, one I hope all you blog readers will celebrate with us. And, please use this great moment to spread the news about this campaign even further – please, share this blog via facebook, twitter or your own blogs with all your friends, family, colleagues whom you think might be interested in seeing for themselves exactly what life is like for people like Howard, Mary, Grace and Mr. Khombe living in two small villages in the Salima district of Malawi.
Ofcourse £1,000,000 is simply a means to an end. It’s what it will do that is the most important thing and this week, we’ve seen once again, why it’s so needed so badly.
It’s been a week where we’ve seen the young and old of Bokola and Kaniche playing a vital role in their communities, a role few children or grandparents here in the UK would ever be expected to play. From Howard cooking for his brothers and parents; to Yamikani supporting his grandmother to build a latrine and Violet bathing her baby brother to 62 year old Grace digging the ground for bricks, it’s clear everyone plays their part.
Most compelling post of the week has to be of the new scoop hole dug in Bokola, where the villagers have had to protect the hole with thorns to stop animals collapsing it once again. Can you imagine the effort?
So, we’ve passed a milestone but we’ve not reached the £1.2m yet. We still need support, we still want more people to see the amazing work happening on the ground, to meet the awe-inspiring people of Bokola and Kaniche, and I can’t help but wonder, how far could we go?
