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Aid team's gift of life
Thousands of victims recovering from a devastating cyclone in Burma could soon have life-saving clean water thanks to the work of people in the Derbyshire Dales.
Volunteers at the Wirksworth charity Aquabox were getting ready this week to send 300 water filtration and welfare kits to the country after securing transport through an agency in London.
The group, which is part of Wirksworth Rotary Club, also hopes to send a further 300 boxes through Singapore, with the help of International Red Cross, and also plans to ship out another 600 units in the future.
The kits include water filtration units which can treat 150 people for 110 days – meaning the first shipment could help up to 15,000 Burmese caught in the cyclone.
Keith Meikle-Janney, from the charity, said: "We are filling boxes as fast as possible and we have teams in every day like we did during the tsunami. In Burma the most important thing is to get them water."
The official death toll from Cyclone Nargis was reported to have reached 34,273 and millions are thought to be homeless.
Weather forecasters were also warning of another storm forming close to the country's biggest city, Rangoon.
So far, the Burmese officials have refused to allow people into the country to help and are distributing the aid themselves.
Mr Meikle-Janney said that he hoped the boxes would get to people who need them most.
He added: "We have to take the chance that they will be distributed or we would not help anyone at all."
Aquabox was formed by Wirksworth Rotary Club in 1992 and the late Duke of Devonshire acted as patron.
Volunteers now fill up to 6,000 boxes a year with the help of around 87 people and send them to places around the world.
Aquaboxes are robust plastic tanks with water purification tablets.
They can also be packed with welfare items to help people dealing with natural disasters.
People can help Aquabox by making a donation, sponsoring and filling a box, or paying for the charity to fill a box. Volunteers can also help with packing at the centre in Wirksworth.
For more information about the charity visit www.aquabox.org
angela.walsh@derbyshiretimes.co.uk
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Weather for Chesterfield
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Heavy snow
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