A former Olympian and water engineering expert paired up for their charity’s annual fundraising ball and ended up raising £10,000 for communities in remote regions of Tanzania.
COCO, founded in 2000 by former Olympic athlete Steve Cram (pictured) and Jim Panton, chief executive of water engineering firm Panton McLeod, provides education for children in communities across Africa.
This year’s water-themed ball aimed to raise awareness and funds for many of those communities who currently do not have access to clean water. And the event, sponsored by Panton McLeod, also helped highlight the importance of clean water sources in the countries where COCO works. Guests at the event were challenged to walk a short distance carrying full water cans weighing around 15kg each to give them some idea of what children as young as seven have to do everyday to get water, which is often dirty and unsanitary.
Since 2000, the charity has raised more than £2.5m to help give children in poverty access to education.
