A BASINGSTOKE Parish Priest who fetched water as a child in Nigeria has helped to raise more than £2000 to transform the lives of families facing water poverty overseas.
Father Dominic Adeiza of St Bede's Church, Basingstoke, knows what it’s like to walk miles for water. Growing up in a boarding school in Nigeria, he and his classmates fetched water from the local river.
He said: “As a 10-year-old in boarding school, I would walk one to two kilometres to fetch water from a river to drink, shower, wash my clothes and for the school kitchen.
“I used to balance four to five litres of water in an iron bucket on my head, which my peers and I did enthusiastically and competitively two to three times a day.
"I lost the hairs in the middle of my head due to the weight of the water.”
He added that his parents instilled in him a deep respect for water.
“My parents always taught me that ‘water is life’. Throughout my childhood, collecting water from a nearby pipe or well was the norm,” he said.
Father Dominic Adeiza and members of his Parish have committed to walking 10,000 steps every day for the 40 days of Lent, for the Walk for Water campaign by overseas development charity, CAFOD.
They have raised more than £2,000 so far, with donations still being accepted.
“CAFOD’s Walk for Water campaign reflects not just a need, but a memory, a face, a family, a community, a people and an environment to me,” says Father Dominic.
CAFOD’s local representative for the Basingstoke area, Jo Lewry, added: “We are totally blown away with the motivation and enthusiasm of supporters like Father Dominic and his parishioners, and those who have donated.
“CAFOD’s years of knowledge and the experience of local aid workers tell us, that when families have availability to clean, safe water, people’s lives can be transformed.
“We will be working with local aid experts and communities to find the best solutions in each place where we work – whether it’s a well, a piped system or rain harvesting.”
To make a donation to St Bede's Church's Walk for Water fundraiser, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/st-bedes-church-basingstoke
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