our supporters
We’d like to say thank you to everyone who continues to supports us, from our suppliers to our customers and every stage inbetween.You all play a vital role in ensuring the success of Thirsty Planet.
We know our supporters and ambassadors come in many different shapes and sizes, all doing their part to fly the flag for Thirsty Planet. We’d like to introduce you to just a few of our friends who are all doing amazing things to help raise the profile of Thirsty Planet.
Please get in touch and tell us about what you are doing to help. Why not share your ideas for promoting Thirsty Planet and the vital work it enables Pump Aid to achieve in Africa?
Michaela Booth, commercials manager, Salford City College
A passionate supporter of Fairtrade, Thirsty Planet and other good-cause products, Michaela insists upon stocking them wherever she can in the college canteens and vending machines which cater for 3,000 students and staff. She’s even persuaded a mighty global soft drinks company to let her put Thirsty Planet in its branded chiller rather than its own brand of water. Her enthusiasm for supporting people in the developing world through good-cause brands such as Thirsty Planet has permeated college culture and she now speaks to all new students and staff about it during their induction, while One World Week receives overwhelming support.
She says: “I’m very proud of what we’ve already achieved so far. We’re in an area of high unemployment and money is tight for our students but they are keen to do whatever they can to help. Buying Thirsty Planet is a simple way for them to make a difference.”
Corinne Bailey Rae, award-winning singer, songwriter and musician
Corinne has been a supporter of Thirsty Planet since its earliest days. Poverty in the developing world is an issue that’s close to her heart. She says: “Having access to clean water is a basic human right. Thirsty Planet and Pump Aid have forged an impressive partnership that is providing a no-fuss and cost-effective solution to one of the biggest problems in southern Africa. It’s fantastic that so many people in the UK are buying Thirsty Planet and the £1 million they have helped to raise will go a long way towards making life better for some of the poorest people on earth.”
As Pump Aid’s goodwill ambassador Corinne has experienced at first hand its work in Malawi. She helped to build an elephant pump and toilets for the school while staying with a family in a village in the Chitera district. You can see her at work and talking about her experience Click Here
Martin Davies, head of catering, retail and events, Chester Zoo
Chester Zoo is renowned for its conservation work with endangered animal species and now it’s helping to save human lives as well by stocking Thirsty Planet in its cafes and kiosks. To keep visitors up to date with its pump tally there’s a scoreboard prominently displayed in the cafe.
Martin Davies, head of catering, retail and events, at the zoo said: “It’s the simplicity of Thirsty Planet’s offer that appeals. We can keep track of our donations and know exactly what we have helped to fund. We get lots of positive comments from visitors and it’s good to know we’re helping to spread the message about Thirsty Planet and Pump Aid and the invaluable work they are doing in Africa.”
Councillor Sophie Linden, Hackney Council, London
Lots of local authorities are serving up Thirsty Planet as part of their CSR policy or Fairtrade status. It’s the water of choice for meetings at Hackney Council which was the first London council to raise enough money to fund an elephant pump. Councillor Sophie Linden, cabinet member for sustainability, said: “Hackney Council is committed to sustainability not only in the borough but also in the way the council is run. This is an example of what can be done when organisations choose to buy goods from responsible sources.”
Hackney became a Fairtrade borough in summer 2008, after a two-year local campaign masterminded by the Hackney Fairtrade Group – a partnership of more than 60 residents, business people, and councillors.
Thelma Mukuchura, Pump Aid field worker
Pump Aid has a policy of creating employment in the countries where it operates, and has trained more than 140 people in Zimbabwe and Malawi to become skilled field workers, proficient in digging wells and making and installing elephant pumps.
Thelma was the first female to join the field team and quickly showed the men that she could wield a pick and shovel like the best of them. She is now an expert in well blasting, and sets explosives down well shafts when the ground is too impacted to break up by hand. It’s a job that requires a cool head and a steady nerve.
Thelma is from Zimbabwe, a country that saw unemployment peak at 94 per cent earlier this year, and she’s the main breadwinner for her extended family. She’s working temporarily in Malawi, passing on her skills to other women. Thelma says “I’m lucky. My kids are healthy and doing well at school. Almost every day in my work I meet women whose children have died because of dirty water. When we install an elephant pump we’re giving the babies and little children a better start in life and we’re freeing mothers from the hours they had to spend every day collecting water for the family. And that’s a good feeling.”
Marian Farrar, St Aidan’s High School, Harrogate
St Aidan’s C of E High School, Harrogate, www.staidans.co.uk and www.catering4schools.co.uk , 2009 winners of the Times Educational Supplement Awards for ‘Best School Catering’, is committed to sourcing the best possible food and drink products for the 2,000 young people and staff members it serves every day. Marian comments, “Thirsty Planet is popular in school not only because it is a product of the highest quality but also because its guaranteed commitment to Pump Aid makes it the choice of conscience for so many. By monitoring sales we can accurately equate bottles sold to the number of pumps this has ‘bought’ – the fact that Pump Aid sites so many adjacent to schools in Malawi and Zimbabwe, means that our own school community can regularly celebrate its connection and support of another. Very many congratulations to all at Thirsty Planet for achieving the million pound donation milestone – your actions speak far louder than our words”.
