A six-year-old youngster from Appleton has raised more than £1,000 for WaterAid by carrying four litres of water for one mile.
Harry Thomson, who is a pupil at St Thomas’ CE Primary School in Stockton Heath, saw one of the charity’s campaigns on television and decided he wanted to raise money to help the campaign.
Harry said: “I told my mummy that I didn’t like the advert because it made me sad.
“I don’t like thinking about children who have to drink dirty water because it’s not fair and they could die.
“I asked mummy how I could fix it and she said she’d have a think.”
The next day, Harry’s mum Kim found the youngster collecting water in jugs “to post to the children he’d seen on television” and he also tried to call the number from the advert on her mobile.
Kim said: “He’d obviously been very moved by the campaign advert and needed to do something about what he’d seen.
“I thought it was really important for him to see that even though he’s only six, he could make a difference.
“We had a chat about doing some fundraising and decided that a sponsored walk carrying four litres of water – which is quite heavy for a six-year-old – would be a fitting challenge.”
Harry set to work making posters while Kim set up a Just Giving page and within minutes he had smashed his initial fundraising target of £100.
Harry completed his walk on Good Friday, supported by his 11-year-old brother Oscar, and he was cheered on by friends from school.
So far, he has raised £1,112 which will help to provide clean water facilities for vulnerable children all over the world.
Harry said: “It was really hard and I thought my arms were going to drop off.
“I can’t believe that children have to do that every day just to get clean water.
“I would like to thank all the people who have given me money because they’ve been amazing.
“Thank you for helping me to change the world!”
To donate to Harry’s Walk For Water visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/harryswalkforwater
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