News of Paul Rowen MP's latest visit to East Africa

Date published: 23/08/2006

Water or lack of it was very much the subject of a recent visit to East Africa by Rochdale MP Paul Rowen. He has just returned from a visit to Uganda and Kenya to look at projects with Rochdale roots.  Paul first visited Uganda to initiate a water project supported by Rotary International for the village of Nansana and Greenland Orphanage. The Orphanage was started and supported by Rochdale businessman Rafiq Arien.

Paul said: "Folk may remember a couple of years ago we organised a three peaks challenge to go up Ben Nevis, Scarfell Pike and Snowden in 24 hours. Moggy, the local window cleaner took his ladder up Ben Nevis! The money raised from that was put with that raised at a Sportsman's Evening organised by my local Rotary Club – Rochdale 86 together with a grant from Rotary International and support from Kampala East Rotary Club to give us $35,000. The money will be used to lay a water pipe bringing fresh clean water to the village.  At the moment the only water supply comes from a spring 2kms away which is contaminated. Over 600 people including the children at the orphanage will benefit. I would like to thank all those Rochdale people who generously supported our project."  Work is expected to start in October.

After that Paul went to the Rift Valley region in Kenya where in the 1990s the Rochdale Friends of Kenya helped build a Secondary School know as the Lake Bogoria Rochdale Secondary School.  Paul said: "That school now has over 130 children and the Head was very pleased to see me. The area has recently been suffering from a very severe drought and many of the parents could not afford to pay school fees or pay for food.  As a self help project the school is trying to grow more food to feed the pupils. I presented them with a water pump which they had asked for. It will enable them to get water from a nearby river to irrigate the crops.  The common thing about my visits to Uganda and Kenya was that I was visiting projects supported by Rochdale people - I was proud to visit areas that are really benefitting from the outstanding generosity of Rochdale people - people there will never forget the help that we continue to give them. "

Paul is hoping to enlist the Department for International Development support to help the school build a new accommodation block. He has already spoken to Minister Hilary Benn about the school.