At its fourth Life Award presentation ceremony held at Derbyshire County Cricket Club recently, attended by over 100 representatives of the plumbing industry, the BPEC charity made three major awards to deserving projects. Three other projects were also supported via the BPEC ‘Legacy Fund’ that was launched last year to ensure that projects supported by BPEC are sustainable over a longer period.
The BPEC Charity Life Award 2015 was presented to Emily Gait and Stephanie Moore from Pump Aid. The project being delivered is to build 10 new ‘Elephant pumps’ across 10 communities in rural Malawi. Emily & Stephanie received an award of £15,000 from the BPEC charity. The award will help provide clean and safe drinking water for over 1,000 people.
£9,100 was awarded to Shane Trevitt to fund the ‘Township plumber trainer programme’ in Johannesburg, South Africa. This project will deliver a series of water and sanitation upgrades and start to train local people living in the township basic plumbing and maintenance skills.
£8,550 was presented earlier in the year to the ‘Friends of Sawbridgeworth Neurological Centres’ to purchase two highly specialised shower chairs.
BPEC chairman, Frank Glover, said: “The Life Award continues to have an inspirational effect on everyone connected with the projects and is changing perspectives and attitudes in a really positive way. The experience the plumbers gain by being involved in the projects is immeasurable and helps to develop their skills to operate in today’s competitive marketplace.”
The search has now started for applicants for the 2016 BPEC Charity Life Award. Everyone who works in or is connected to the UK plumbing sector is encouraged to make a submission for consideration by the panel. The closing date for applications is 30th June 2016.
BPEC (Training) Ltd otherwise known as the BPEC Charity is a registered charity committed to identifying the education and training needs of those who work in the plumbing industry and providing innovative solutions to address their needs. The Life Award was launched in 2012, in memory of BPEC’s founding chairman Raymond J Brooks, to reward and support those in the UK plumbing industry who use plumbing skills to enhance life.