“Before the well,
they had to walk
fi ve hours a day to
get water, which
meant the children
weren’t being
educated”
www.travelweekly.co.uk
we will always go out and meet
them to make sure everything
is legitimate.”
Trustee and water engineer
Colonel Mike Reynolds is
preparing to go to Niger to
meet a nomadic tribe called
the Tuareg. The Tuareg people
roam from one village to the
next and no government will
take responsibility for them.
“They are in some very arid
areas. There is water below
ground and they have dug a
well but it has become polluted,”
said Colonel Reynolds.
“At the moment there can
be hundreds of people sur-
Water engineer
Julian Butter
and Colonel
John Blashford-
Snell, pictured
right, help the
rest of the
volunteers and
Cofan hunter
gatherers in
Ecuador
rounding the well and it can
take 48 hours to get water.”
The Tuaregs used to survive
by selling camels in exchange
for food, but as that
trade has diminished they
survive on goat meat and
milk. Although growing crops
is alien to the Tuareg lifestyle,
some have grown gardens
around the well, where they
can grow vegetables and take
the produce to market. This
allows them to earn enough
money to send their children
to school.
“Before the well, they had
to walk for fi ve hours a day to
get water, which meant the
children weren’t being educated,”
said Colonel Reynolds.
“Despite their troubles, the
Tuaregs are very proud people
and contented with what
they’ve got.”
A group is also about to go
to Zambia to install three
boreholes in three villages,
each with 200 people.
“The water at the moment
is muddy and fi lthy; the people
even share it with animals,”
said Captain Masters. “A lot of
children die from the diseases
they pick up from the water.”
Just a Drop will work with
the Butterfl y Foundation to
improve the health, schools
and clinics in the area.
No matter how many
projects they complete, the
volunteers never fail to be
amazed by the transforming
effect of a fresh water supply.
“You have to see it to believe
the difference it makes; water
gives them access to opportunities
they could never
have imagined,” said Captain
Masters.
For daily news go to
www.travelweekly.co.uk
March 6 2009 | Travel Weekly | 33
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