MIKE Swift from Ashburton & Buckfastleigh Rotary set himself a target to walk 124 km( 4km a day)  to raise money for Water Aid, writes Sandie Perraton.

He has exceeded his target and has raised £295. 

Sadly when he was just 5km short of that distance he contracted Covid, but the charity have agreed he could pick up his targets again when he has recovered.  

Although the sponsored target was 124km Mike was aiming for 160km (100 miles).

Mike was passionate about the need for fresh water for everyone in order that with clean water, people can have an equal chance to be healthy, educated and financially secure. Communities can thrive.

He told me –‘When we need a drink of water we turn on a tap and it flows into our glass. In this country we take water for granted but others cannot. 

‘Some 70-year-old ladies walk 10 miles a day to get water for their families, six-year-old girls walk four miles a day to get water. 

‘I’m walking for water, so others don’t have to. I’m walking for the millions of women and children who walk distances every day to get the water they need for themselves and their families to survive.’

Fred Westcott, another of our Rotarians cycled 60 miles from Newton Abbot to Exeter and back to support Steve Cornish who was raising funds for the Samaritan in support of his daughter, Danielle.