Almost all of our conference tickets have been sold (there may still be one or two left, but get them quickly!) and we are now just one week away from our first National Conference. If you’ve booked a ticket you will be receiving an email this week with all that you need to know – including the programme and directions (a map can be found here).
As we enter the final countdown to what we’re sure will be an important milestone in tour growth, it’s important to pause and remember how GfGD came into existence and our purpose in the coming months and years. The photo below encapsulates both of these things. This borehole, constructed in 2013 in the remote village of Kabalekela (NW Tanzania) by The Tumaini Fund, has brought clean and safe water to a community that previously had to walk several kilometres each way to collect it. If managed well, this simple combination of geology, engineering and (crucially) community development will have a radical impact on health, education, income generation and gender equality for many years to come. Geology can play a fundamental part in transforming lives. Through NGOs, academia, insurance, industry, public sector surveys – geologists can make a difference and have an impact – and we are working to help them make sure that difference is effective, sustainable and positive.
It was visits to the community of Kabalekela in 2009 and 2010, and many others in this region, that resulted in GfGD getting off the ground in 2011. It was the warmth and openness of all those in Kagera to learn – and to share their understanding – that has now resulted in this very special opportunity to gather together from across the UK to consider how our community can contribute to the fight against global poverty.
A clean water source in Kabalekela (c) The Tumaini Fund, 2013
