Leading motorway service area operator Roadchef has been awarded with a gold certificate from Thirsty Planet, the British bottled spring water company, after raising over £5,000 towards the installation of 10 water pumps in Malawi, Africa.

The 10 pumps will provide clean, safe water to over 1,000 people, across many village communities.

Thirsty motorway users helped Roadchef reach this significant milestone, with 2p from every bottle of Thirsty Planet water purchased at Roadchef’s 20 sites throughout Britain, going towards the build of water pumps in some of Africa’s most remote and poor areas. The 500ml bottles of water are currently sold through Roadchef’s WHSmith outlets and their own branded Restbite and Hot Food Co restaurants.

Thirsty Planet has raised over £1.5million in just five years, providing over 1 million people with clean, safe water and funding the construction of more than 8,000 elephant pumps in Malawi, Zimbabwe and Liberia, via its partner charity Pump Aid. Pump Aid provide simple, cost-effective, water pumps, which can be built and maintained by the local communities, empowering the men, women and children, creating a strong sense of ownership. Providing clean water improves standards of health, allows for education, enables farming and food security, improves conditions for women and encourages economic development.

Simon Turl, ceo of Roadchef, commented: “We’re thrilled to have reached this great milestone with the help of our customers. Thirsty Planet and Pump Aid raise money for a fantastic cause and so we immediately wanted to get involved. As a business we’re conscious of giving back to communities, at home and abroad, and we hope to continue working with Thirsty Planet in the future, to help more people living in poverty”.

James Cain, managing drector of Thirsty Planet, added: “We are fortunate to work with like-minded customers such as Roadchef to help achieve our goals of providing clean water in Africa. Roadchef has been a huge support, raising an impressive amount of money through on-the-go sales of our bottled water. We’re hugely grateful for their involvement”.

Thirsty Planet can also be bought in many multiple and independent retailers as well as across the foodservice sector.

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