AMESBURY business boss Mike Oakes has returned from a visit to Ethiopia, where he saw how money donated by his company is helping to supply water to thousands of the world's poorest people.

Mr Oakes is manager of the Boscombe Down business park branch of AquAid, supplier of water coolers and mineral water, which has contributed £65,000 of a total of £1m donated nationally this year by the company to Christian Aid in support of third world countries.

The water bottled by the firm comes from Godlingstone Manor, in the Purbeck hills.

It bubbles up from a great depth and is naturally filtrated, then bottled and hermetically sealed in 19-litre containers.

And for every bottle sold, AquAid donates 40p to Christian Aid and its Third World Water campaign.

Every day, 5,500 children in poor countries die as a result of using unclean water.

To put that in perspective, landmines, which tend to receive far greater publicity, are responsible for 72 deaths a year.

Mr Oakes has been working on the charity project for seven years.

In December, he visited Ethiopia to see how the money was being spent. He was delighted with what he saw, and said: "Wells have been created and springs have been protected for human consumption.

"Money has also been used to provide water pumps where required."

Pumps have been installed which have freed women from the task of collecting water and they can spend more time tending their vegetable plots to provide food and a family income.

Children also benefit from being able to wash every day, and villagers gain valuable building and management skills by constructing the wells, cisterns and water-carrying facilities under the guidance of Christian Aid.

A volunteer Christian Aid worker showed Mr Oakes around the local churches.

She told him that the local people were overjoyed with the improvements they had experienced.

He said: "Without Christian Aid, life would be even more difficult for local people."

Mr Oakes is determined that the water-based projects be self-financing.

"The villagers pay an affordable fee in return for using the water," he said.

"This payment instills a sense of ownership in the villagers."

Any school, company or organisation wishing to support AquAid can obtain further details at www.aquaid-wilts.co.uk.