Challengenewsline - Dance For Water

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Dance For Water

On Saturday 18 October 2008, thousands of people will be taking part in ceilidhs up and down the country in support of WaterAid.

The Big National Ceilidh is the brainchild of David and Joey Oliver, who are both involved with the folk music scene. David is chair of the organisation Folk Arts, which is supporting the event, and Joey is the whistle player in the BBC award-winning band 422. With such a wealth of experience between them, the idea for Big National Ceilidh was born.

A ceilidh is a type of barn dance, with a live band. It’s a great social occasion that anyone can join in with. To unify all the ceilidhs, at 10pm everyone will be dancing the Circassian Circle - one of the simplest, best-loved and most inclusive of dances - to the tune of ‘Jamie Allen’.

David said, ‘We thought it would be great if we could get lots of dances going simultaneously, right across Britain, so we began by emailing ceilidh-dancing friends and contacts around the country, and that got the ball rolling. We chose to support WaterAid because of the fantastic work it does, bringing a simple, major, permanent improvement to many people’s lives.’

Joey added, ‘Ceilidhs are something everyone can enjoy, and no experience is necessary. It’s proven to be physically, mentally and socially healthy, so it will do us good as well as the beneficiaries of WaterAid!

Part of the Big National Ceilidh’s beauty is that it embraces a wide variety of locations ranging from large dance palaces to tiny village halls. Eventually we’re hoping there will be at least a hundred separate events - raising tens of thousands of pounds and giving everyone a night to remember!’

Why WaterAid?

Most (about 80%) of the people in the world who die of diseases die because they don’t have clean water and sanitation: over 2 million deaths could be avoided every year if clean water was available everywhere. Every single day 5,000 children die from diarrhoea simply because they don’t have clean water and basic sanitation. Clean water is essential for life, but over a billion people in the world do not have it. The lack of clean water close to people’s homes also affects people’s time, livelihoods and quality of life.

Many women and children spend hours each day walking miles to collect water. This water is usually dirty and unsafe but they have no alternative. WaterAid is doing something about this, and our ceilidh will help their work. Of course there are many good causes we could support; this one will make an immediate, radical and permanent difference to many lives.

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