TWO women from Kingsbridge have returned from an expedition to Kenya, where they constructed a sand dam to harvest rainwater for remote communities.

Angela Seal and June Stapley were working alongside the Kamba people to construct the dam, using stone and sand from the dry river bed, water collected with donkeys from several miles away, and cement provided by the charity.

The organisation and management of each site is co-ordinated by Excellent Development’s partner organisation, the Africa Sand Dam Foundation.

Daily targets are clearly measured by the number of 50 kilogramme bags of cement to be used up, so everyone is purposeful and progress smooth and fast.

Angela Seal said: ‘Most exciting was our visit to a sand dam built in 2012, which our expedition leaders had been involved in for the whole five week build.

‘Here we saw the results of all the hard work, and it was incredibly impressive. In contrast to the parched brown terrain elsewhere, there were acres of healthy green crops, even though there has been no rain for eight months.

Angela continued: ‘The water retained by the sand dam continues to irrigate the land which is growing kale, spinach, tomatoes, onions, mangoes, bananas and papayas - so it is providing food, clean drinking water and a source of income for about 2,000 people.’

‘They are healthier, can pay for their children to go to school - there is no government funding for secondary education in Kenya - and they have that fundamental resource that we all take for granted - water!’ Angela added.

They are continuing to raise money for this cause – it costs about £10,000 to build a whole new dam. Angela and June would like to thank everybody who has donated to the fund. If you would like to help, or to learn more about this fantastic enterprise, please text or call June on 07792965626 or Angela on 07398780213.

The link below shows exactly what Angela and June have been doing and why it is such an effective solution in arid areas of the world: