Teams of aid workers carried the boxes to tents and gave instructions on how to use correctly, allowing the refugees access to clean, safe water. We managed to send shipments to both Yemen and Syria, as well as a further shipment to Nepal,” said Roger Cassidy, chair of trustees. Wirksworth Rotary Club members were already contributing to an emergency box scheme initiated by the Rotary Club of Denton, helping to fill wooden boxes of humanitarian aid which were sent to disaster areas around the world. Earlier this year, Aquabox distributed 160 Aquaboxes to a refugee camp in Syria through their partner Hand in Hand for Aid (HiHAD).

During its first 10 years, Aquabox aid was sent to disaster zones across the world: Africa, the Caribbean, south America, south-east Asia and even North Korea. The Aquabox family filter, designed to meet the needs of an average family, went into production in 2011. The storage space is created by a multitude of Aquabox elements, which can be combined to form plants of any size. The advantage of this method is that with this infiltration system, the cavity volume is up to 3 times larger than gravel ditch and thus space and excavation can be saved. Working with the Gurkhas, Nepal Armed Police and Local Rotary clubs, aid boxes are able to be distributed to areas in need, however getting to these communities can prove challenging.

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Then in 2010, Aquabox was approached by John Griffith, who had developed a simple ultra-filtration hand pump to convert polluted water into clean, safe water for drinking, for cooking and for washing. This was a giant leap forward: instead of using a carbon filter and chlorine tablets to provide safe drinking water for a few months, the new pump could process thousands of litres of water – and it could go on working for years. All our aid costs a significant amount to supply and distribute across the world and all our income is contingent upon the generosity of donors. Anyway, it’s proven extremely handy already and makes regular appearances while my partner is having a night of television in bed. Who says romance is dead, her watching EastEnders and me tying up a load of 360s! Aid was also sent to conflict zones like Kosovo, Croatia and Serbia, supporting families caught up in the Balkan wars.

Aquabox is an underground plastic module in which water is collected and stored. The aim of this system is to collect the rainwater temporarily and release it with a time delay into the sewage infrastructure, preventing flooding in urban areas.Building and houses were destroyed or damaged, and 11 people died with a further 30+ declared missing. Every box hauled up the steep, crumbling pathways represented a life-line for a family, in particular by providing access to safe drinking water where none is available. Over time the original design has been refined and improved – currently the teams are assembling the Mk3 version – and in 2016 the charity was honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a charity can receive. All of this has been funded almost entirely by donations, notably donations from Rotary clubs across the British Isles.” Aquabox is a Derbyshire-based charity. Since 1992, Aquabox has supplied AquaFilters into disaster areas. AquaFilters enable those affected to transform potentially contaminated water from streams and wells into safe drinking water. For many, this safe drinking water is fundamental to their survival, as well as reducing the incidence of water-borne diseases such as cholera.

Over the past 30 years, Aquabox filters have provided untold thousands of people living in extreme deprivation with access to safe, clean water for drinking, for cooking and for washing. It’s almost entirely the work of unpaid volunteers – even now, there is only one paid staff member, and he’s a part-timer. Next up, the range contains a 15l box (L: 400mm x W: 300mm x H: 186mm). In the image, you’ll see that this is the ideal box for the storage of all your bait making equipment, as well as any glugs, pop-up pots, or jars of particles. However, it would also be the ideal storage for all your cooking equipment or even your spare reel and rig pouch. I first saw these at The Big One earlier this year and, while my initial assessment was probably similar to most people’s, they have actually proved to be more than ‘just green plastic boxes’. AVK UK is the leading provider of valves, fittings and associated support services to UK water companies. It is now leveraging the skills and expertise of its workforce to help Aquabox provide clean water to those impacted by natural disasters around the world. All of the Aqua luggage boxes in the range have the same external footprints and all are 400mm long by 300mm wide. This translates into internal measurements of 380mm x 280mm. The height of the box changes depending on its overall capacity. The 10l box is 110mm high, the 15l is 166mm, the 20l is 226mm, and the 30l is 310mm. Please add an additional 20mm onto the height of each box for the external measurements.

All of this has been funded almost entirely by donations, notably donations from Rotary clubs across the British Isles. There is no way of knowing how many lives have been saved by Aquabox’s intervention, but it must be a huge number. It was in 1991 when two members of Wirksworth Rotary Club, Mike Hoole and Peter Hare, came up with a way to improve on the club’s charitable work.

With the help of HiHAD, the Aquaboxes will have reached over 160 families and has the capacity to provide safe water for 1000 people. The only way to get the vital aid to those in need was on foot, often through dangerous and difficult terrain. Central to AVK UK’s support for Aquabox is the sponsorship of five AVK UK employees – AVK-Aquabox Ambassadors - to work alongside Aquabox volunteers. The AVK UK team will work on a variety of initiatives such as improving logistics, assembly processes, and marketing. AVK UK has also committed to providing direct financial support and fundraising throughout the year. Paul Hubbard is Chairman of AVK UK: ‘AVK UK takes its CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) responsibilities very seriously. Before linking up with Aquabox, I met with their representatives and quizzed them on their financial stability and their plans for the future. I was impressed with their drive to double the number of filters and aid boxes they ship each year, and the way they partner with aid agencies in disaster areas to ensure the filters are deployed effectively. Water is fundamental to life and ensuring its safe and effective distribution across the UK is at the heart of what we do at AVK UK. I am confident that our AVK-Aquabox Ambassadors will help Aquabox meet its targets and improve its systems and processes. It’s a really worthwhile and inspiring charity.’ It is humbling to witness the efforts local people are prepared to go to, to ensure those in need get the aid they require.Mike and Peter’s idea was to replace the wooden box with a plastic crate so that with the addition of a charcoal filter, chlorine sterilising tablets and a tap, the crate could be used as a water reservoir and filter, to convert polluted water into safe drinking water. Since Aquabox switched to assembling the ultra-filtration pumps in 2011, the volunteer teams have manufactured more than 24,000 filter units and sent them to disaster areas and conflict zones around the world. The smallest of four sizes, the 10-litre Staxx has been filled with rig-tying essentials and it now lives under my bed. What? It could be worse, there could have been all manner of other things under there, not that I’d tell you!