LOCAL actor Mark Spriggs will be giving up treading the boards for a while to conquer much tougher terrain as he embarks on a world trek in order to help the poorest people in southern Africa have access to clean water supplies.
The 37-year-old Bidford man launched his Walk 4 Water campaign on World Water Day, in the hope of saving lives and helping some of the 1.1 billion people in the world who do not have access to clean water. And this time next year, Mark plans to walk to the edge of the Sahara Desert from the shores of Loch Lomond, passing through Stratford Upon Avon in a bid to raise as much money as he can for Pump Aid – a water charity which establishes sustainable clean water supplies, sanitation and builds food security for the poorest people in rural south Africa.Mark, who works part-time at the Windmill pub in Stratford and is currently rehearsing for a production with local theatre group Caramba, first decided to embark on this challenging project in September 2007 when he recalled the dreams of the previous year.
He said: “Back in May 2006 I completed a long walk (750 miles) across Spain. It had been a painful 18 months for our family with the loss of several loved ones including my mum from ovarian cancer. The walk was a welcome ‘escape’, an opportunity for a kind of catharsis and a reacquainting with the wonder of life and the beauty of living after a period of not feeling that could ever be the way again.“As an actor I am familiar with unconventional working patterns and used to periods of time in paid work as well as having times of there being more freedom to explore other projects and ideas. So I took the opportunity to walk. However, I always felt that there would be a longer walk at some point and for a purpose a little broader than dealing with my own trials, as valid as they were at that time.
“When I was originally looking at projects to participate with I began to realise how huge the whole ‘water’ issue is. One of my friends was involved in lecturing around the world on ‘water leakage’ issues. I began to learn more about the whole subject. I couldn’t believe that nearly 5,000 children die a day due to the lack of something that we just take for granted – safe drinking water and sanitation. We all wore the white wrist bands, we all agreed that making poverty history was vital, giving people clean drinking water is the essential first step towards making that a reality.”
So he chose to raise funds for Pump Aid. Pump Aid was founded in 1998 and since its start has built ‘Elephant’ pumps and toilets to enable more than 1 million people access to clean water, irrigation and sanitation. Each pump costs around £500 and each toilet around £20.
Mark has mapped most of his route, but to make the dream a reality he needs to raise much needed sponsorship for the challenge. He has contributed some money himself which he inherited from his Grandfather, a post-man and second world war veteran who lost the ability to walk through severe arthritis, to fund part of the walk. He has been offered some significant sponsorship, but to make the project a success he still needs to raise a lot more.
He said: “In some ways people may question the wisdom of undertaking a project like this at a time when there is so much financial pressure at home. I feel however that it creates an opportunity for us to adopt a healthier, broader mindset, to put things in perspective and perhaps even triumph over our problems by daring to live generously, courageously and even a little dangerously. I believe that by pursuing this idea something very significant can be achieved that contributes to the work of Pump Aid and ultimately towards our shared vision of making poverty history.”
To find out more about the project, or to offer corporate or private sponsorship, contact Mark Spriggs on 07916 286058. For more information on Pump Aid visit www.pumpaid.org
Article and photo provided by Mark Spriggs
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2 Comments
i met mark today and thought what a nice man he is to take on such a commitment is inspiring and very brave of him he is the same age as my son and i’m sure his family and friends are very proud of him i did catch up with him in my village of ellington and give a small donation good luck to him
Thank you for your support June. We are all routing for Mark here in the Pump Aid office, and wish him all the best for the rest of his trip!
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[...] Btw, the guy who ghost wrote that story, Marko Spriggs, is currently preparing a walk in aid of clean water for Africa. No its not your average 25 mile sponsored walk; rather from Scotland to Morocco! You can read more here. [...]