Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ supports Felixstowe Rotary Club’s fundraising for Kenya

Ipswich-based Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is always keen to support local fundraising, and the cruise line recently donated a mini-cruise aboard Boudicca to the Felixstowe Rotary Club, as a prize for its annual ‘International Evening’, to help to raise money to build a ‘sand dam’ in Kenya.

This dam-building project will provide a local community in the country with a year-round supply of safe, clean water. The Club raised an impressive £3,230.00 through its efforts on the evening, and the sum will be trebled through Rotary International’s matched funding scheme, resulting in enough money to build one dam.

Mark Davis, of the Felixstowe Rotary Club, said:

“We are extremely grateful to Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines for their generosity in supporting our Club in its annual fundraising event, which enables us to achieve a key Rotary goal of making a lifelong beneficial change to a large number of people who – through no fault of their own – live in highly-disadvantaged circumstances. Not only do these ‘sand dams’ hugely improve people’s health and well-being, but – in conjunction with terracing of nearby fertile land – enable them to develop more sustainable lives.” 

Nathan Philpot, Sales and Marketing Director for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said:

“We are delighted that we have been able to contribute a cruise prize to this wonderful cause. As a local company, it is important that we work with our community to help to make a difference, and we congratulate everyone at Felixstowe Rotary Club for achieving such a great result from their fundraising event.”

A positive aspect of this Kenyan project is that the community that benefits from the dam will have to build and own it themselves, so that it is not just a case of the money delivering a finished dam, built by others. The dam will be built using a technique developed by the Romans, and will be extremely low maintenance and cost effective.

The cruise prize donated by Fred. Olsen was a four-night mini-cruise to Amsterdam and Antwerp, which departs from Southampton on 14^th November 2013, and includes an overnight stay in Amsterdam.