A second ‘Good Drinks’ evening will be held at The Nathan Club on Wednesday 26 September, to update Britomart locals on community initiative The Village Project.

Six members of the Britomart, Waiheke and Titirangi Village Project teams recently travelled to Uganda for three weeks to roll out the second phase of an ongoing rain-harvesting project.

The project draws on rainwater collection expertise developed on Waiheke Island and focuses on training local Ugandans in the construction of more efficient rainwater collection systems.

On this trip, the Village Project team built four water tanks for a new babies’ home, founded by Ugandan child care ministry Watoto to house abandoned and orphaned infants.

Watoto works on housing and humanitarian projects across Uganda to help rebuild the lives of women and children devastated by war and HIV. New Zealand initiative The Village Project was founded in 2008 and is now Watoto’s sole rain-harvesting partner.

The Village Project at Britomart

The Village Project Britomart team was established this year by members of local businesses Material Creative, Westpac New Zealand and Cooper and Company. Its focus is on lending time and practical support to the planning and implementation of these ongoing humanitarian projects.

Money raised from the last Britomart Good Drinks evening in July was used to buy a new concrete mixer, which Village Project founder Emily Parsons says was enormously helpful for this phase of the project.

“It’s all about teaching the locals how to replicate tasks so they can go on and build more tanks themselves. It might sound like a small thing but having one mixer allows you to create a consistent mix and makes it much easier to teach people.”

Toni Brandso, from Britomart interior design company Material Creative, was part of the team that went to Uganda in August.

“It was mind-altering – I’m still trying to process what we actually did,” says Toni. “Just seeing Africa in the flesh, seeing so much need. You can be told a million times but until you see it you don’t get it. And once you see it you can’t turn your back on it.”

“We’d love more people and businesses at Britomart to get involved,” says Emily. “All we ask at this stage is that you register your interest and we’ll keep you in the loop about what you can do to help.

“In the meantime, everyone is welcome to come along for a drink on the 26th, see some of our trip photos and find out more about what we’re doing and why.”

Register your interest for more information
View Facebook album of 2012 Uganda trip

The Village Project Britomart ‘Good Drinks’
Wednesday 26 September 2012, 5.30-7.30pm
The Nathan Club
51 Galway Street, Britomart
Free entry (with free drink at the door)

Read more about The Village Project
Read more about Watoto