Ian Botham spearheads water purification project

Luton-based business Water-to-Go and Sir Ian Botham have teamed up to help provide a fresh drinking water solution for children in remote areas of Sri Lanka.

Ian Botham recently completed a 125-mile walk in temperatures over 30 degrees Centigrade to raise funds for Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

His eight-day effort included the Anuradhapura region where there have been serious issues with water pollution resulting in many kidney problems.

During the walk, Botham stopped and gave village children 350 Water-to-Go bottles. These instantly purify the dirtiest rain, river or tap water, eliminating over 99.9 percent of all bacteria and water pollutants to turn it into perfect drinking water.

Botham said: “Since seeing the tsunami damage 10 years ago, I’ve made Sri Lanka my priority for fund-raising. The bottles we gave away can transform puddle water into drinking water, so hopefully this will make a bit of difference.”

David Shanks, Managing Director of Water-to-Go, which is based at Caddington, said: “It is amazing to believe that some of Asia, Africa and other parts of the world do not have fresh drinking water in the 21st century. We are currently working with a number of international charities, but there is a limit to the number of bottles we can give away so we are looking for a philanthropic business or household water provider to help sponsor some extra bottles.”

- Luton on Sunday