Water pump project saves lives in Indian village thanks to pastor led church project
By Jayne Freer
LIVES are being saved in one of the poorest regions of India thanks to a water project backed by a green energy solutions firm based in Northern Ireland.
Amber Green Solar, a division of Amber Green Energy, has funded the installation of a new drinking water pump in the village of Gajipur in the Uttar Pradesh state of northern India.
The pump is being used daily by hundreds of villagers who no longer have to walk for more than three hours to reach the nearest clean water pump.
It is the sixth pump to be installed in the region thanks to a project led by pastors from the Vineyard Church in Dungannon, the local church of Menarys department store director, Stephen McCammon.
Praising the generosity of Amber Green in funding the latest pump, Mr McCammon said: “Amber Green ought to be admired, particularly as a young company, for putting this ahead of profit. What they have done is more than just put in a pump, it is providing daily needs to 200 plus people. It is saving lives.
“We have had stories fed back to us from a father who’s children are now going to school because they do not have to walk miles every day to get clean water. There’s also a lady in her forties who has a family of 12, 11 of whom work in the fields. She prepares food for the whole family and had to get up at 4am to make the long trek to get clean water. She does not have to do that now. It is empowering people to make changes.”
Pastors from the Dungannon church have been working with connections in Lucknow, the capital of the Uttar Pradesh state, for more than five years on the sustainability project.
Mr McCammon visited the region himself in March last year. He said: “Our church funded a church building in one of the slums and I was out there for the opening. It is great to see the church going into communities, and it is vital that it meets people’s spiritual and also practical needs.
“It is probably among the most disease ridden areas because of dirty water. Fifty per cent of illness in these communities are water-born diseases. The choices people have are either dirty water or some of their children walking hours to reach the nearest water pump, which denies them their education. They have a choice, education or clean water.”
The Amber Green funded pump is the latest of six pumps that have been installed providing clean water to thousands.
Avinash Singh, the church’s contact in India, spoke of the impact the pump was having. He said: “I have been to visit this community and it is wonderful to hear from people that this hand pump has again helped young girls to be in school more regularly. They used to miss school, sometimes three times in a week, due to water issues at home. We praise God that this is not a just a safe drinking water solution but also bringing better life specifically for children. We recently had a baptism service and praise God, 16 people got baptised.”
Amber Green’s CeO, Dwyer O’Neill, said the company is delighted to support the project and highlighted that while success in business is very important to them, so too is social responsibility.
He said: “This is a fantastic project and we are delighted to being playing our part in helping enrich so many lives in such a simplistic way. It is very much Amber Green’s ethos.
“Corporate social responsibility is very important to us and by supporting such a worthwhile cause we are ensuring that our policies and practices demonstrate that our core operations are informed by good ethical standards. Taking care of our environment by empowering people to generate their own energy is our core business but we are also very aware of human rights and social justice.”
The Uttar Pradesh state has a population of more than 200 million and is the fifth largest Indian state by area.
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Notes To Editor:
- Amber Green Energy is an industry leader in green energy solutions in Northern Ireland. The company has bases in Moy and Belfast. It adopts a dynamic approach to project funding, combined with proven technologies, ensures excellent returns on investments from renewable, sustainable power generation. Amber Green helps clients navigate green energy legislation and access to sustainable energy revenues. Amber Green Energy helps clients with the planning and design of sustainable green energy technologies for anaerobic digestion, wind power generation, combined heat and power and solar panels, solar PV – photovoltaics. Amber Green Solar is a subsidiary of Amber Green Energy.
- For further information contact Eleanor McGillie of MGMPR Ltd on 028 3756 9569 | 07709805379 | www.mgmpr.co.uk | Renewable Energy PR | Public Relations Northern Ireland | Public Relations UK | Brand Journalism Northern Ireland | Brand Journalism UK | Brand Journalism Experts | Corporate Social Responsibility |
