THE children at Obino School in Kenya often hang about waiting in their blue uniforms for water. Their lives are about to change thanks to Wiltshire’s WellBoring Weekend of May 6-7. Soon they will have a borehole like the one recently installed for the children of Bungu Kokwach School by WellBoring, Wiltshire’s water charity. 
During the weekend, dozens of local performers sang songs, played music, read short stories and poetry at Rivo Lounge in Chippenham, the Cause and the Old Road Tavern, where Dexter Sellboy & the Shonky Trio headlined on Saturday with Steve Jones on Sunday night. 
Scores of people heard Kevin Nyamwaya, who leads the drilling team in Kisumu, explain how to drill a borehole. Lingmara sang at the Cause, where published poet Andy Fawthrop led half-a-dozen local poets and Ashley and Julie Green told Tall Stories, and Jazz Club, Blues Club and Folk Club all added performances. The WellBoring Weekend raised £3,500 for a life-changing well for Obino School in Kenya, and a local benefactor offered to double everything raised so two more wells can now go ahead.
This was our first ever WellBoring weekend. We’re delighted with the enthusiasm of the performers, the engagement of the audiences and the results. This will reduce sickness at two more schools, boost attendance and help to transform the community. We’ve positively affected the lives of some 20,000 Kenyans, equivalent to about half the population of Chippenham. 
WellBoring is a six-year old Chippenham charity that is transforming thousands of lives via school-centred communities in Kenya by providing sustainable supplies of clean water.
NIGEL LINACRE
Chippenham