THE Rotary Club of Astley has helped to fund a much needed water purification plant in Sri Lanka.

The project began last year when adults and children in villages in Meegahajandura and Sooriyawewa began suffering from an unknown kidney disease thought to be caused from chemicals found in their water.

The Rotary clubs of Astley, Colombo Central and Suita West in Japan raised money for the life-saving project and a 1.2 million rupees plant which can deliver up to 10,000 litres of clean drinking water every day was opened last month.

It will benefit around 500 Sri Lankan families who previously had no access to clean drinking water.

Alan Prescott, chairman of the Rotary Club of Astley’s International Committee, said: “It just shows what three clubs from across the world, working together, can achieve.”

Club member and former president Trevor Barton said: “It is somewhat perverse that water causes so many problems and yet clean water also solves so many problems and allows man to earn a living and prosper.”

The club began helping Sri Lanka following a conversation between Trevor and his friend Gnanaka Jayasinghe on Boxing Day in 2004.

Rotary Club of Colombo Central member Gnanaka was born in Sri Lanka and spoke to Trevor about helping the country recover from the devastating Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that had struck that day.

They joined forces with colleagues from Japan to fund the repairs of 58 fishing boats in Sri Lanka that were damaged by the tsunami.

Helping a Tamil community on the east side of the island at Trincomalee that is heavily dependent on fishing, they also funded a new boat for the Fishing Co-operative.

The combined work of the clubs also enabled a water tower, tanks and pumping facility to be built in 2006 to transform the quality of water drunk at the Peter Weerasekara Children’s Home in Sri Lanka.