Sand Dams Worldwide hosted a stand at the 2017 Rotary National Conference in Manchester from April 7-9, showcasing the Rotary Sand Dam Project and the achievements of our long-running partnership with Rotary Clubs of Great Britain and Ireland.

We were inspired to meet so many of our previous and current Rotarian supporters and friends, whilst creating new connections with Rotarians in the UK and overseas.

Among the lovely people we met was Vijay Patel, of Hemel Hempstead Rotary Club (and Assistant Governor of District 1260), who are leading a fundraising effort together with Berkhamsted Bulbourne Rotary Club, supported by other Clubs in the Chiltern Area, to enable a community in Makueni County, southeast Kenya, to construct a sand dam during 2017.

Hemel Hempstead Rotary Club and Berhamsted Bulbourne Rotary Club previously joined forces to raise funds to enable the construction of a sand dam in June 2012 by the Kumina Wauni self-help group in Makueni County. And Berkhamsted Bulbourne Rotary Club subsequently raised funds to enable the Vinya Wa Kitulani self-help group, to construct a sand dam in February 2016.

We are extremely grateful for their previous support and their ongoing efforts to give further dryland communities the opportunity to access safe water, close to home, and to work their way out of poverty.

Particular thanks, also, to James Onions for his support over the weekend and for a great many years now, encouraging Rotary Clubs and Districts all over the UK to support the Rotary Sand Dam Project through Club and District funds, and Global Grants, and to Sam Addison of Walkden Rotary Club for his companionship and support on the stand over the weekend.

We look forward to meeting many more Rotarians at District Conferences coming up in the next few months and also at next year's National Conference in Torquay.

To find out more about how Rotary and Sand Dams Worldwide are working together, please click here.

£10 a month could provide safe water for life for one person, every month