Coins from Cathedral Fountain Contribute £1400 to WaterHarvest

Offering coins at fountains or wells for good luck is a tradition present in many cultures around the world, with origins thought to date back thousands of years. The money given in this way to Christ Church Cathedral is collected every few years when the cloisters fountain is emptied. The Cathedral volunteers very kindly took on the challenge this year of counting the proceeds, which, as you can see below, was quite the job!

Over 2.2 billion people around the world still lack access to safely managed drinking water, of whom four in every five live in rural areas. The Cathedral Chapter wished for donations from the fountain would be used where they could do the most to address this appalling need, which is why we have chosen to work with WaterHarvest.

For almost 40 years WaterHarvest have worked in rural India and now Ghana & Uganda to harvest rainwater urgently needed to improve health, reduce poverty, build climate change resilience and free girls from water procurement.

WaterHarvest are a small charity with a big impact - in their 37 years of operation they have worked in over 2000 villages, helping 2.3 million people to access drinking water. The positive benefits for communities are widespread: a scheme installing water harvesting tanks in Ugandan schools have led to a 26% increase in school enrolment and a 23% increase in girls’ attendance, for example.

“We are thrilled by such a generous donation,” said Corinna McShane, CEO of Water Harvest.

“It is wonderful to think that the small gesture of so many individuals dropping a coin (perhaps whilst making a wish) into Christ Church Cathedral’s beautiful fountain will make a real difference to the lives of others thousands of miles away. I would like to wish many thanks to all involved.” 

If you’d like to learn more about WaterHarvest, visit their website at https://water-harvest.org/.

The Cathedral fountain was installed in the cloisters in 2008, following a generous gift from House alumnus Robert Sandell. The design was created by artist Gary Breeze, and features words from Psalm 150 cast in lead. Together with its neighbouring olive tree, which sits in a planter also crafted by Breeze, it symbolises the elemental forces of life and creates a unifying focus of peace and reflection in the space.

The Cathedral Volunteers counting the proceeds from the fountain. From left to right: James Offen, Jon Catterall, Michele Winter, Bill Rooker

The Cloisters fountain and olive tree

A group of schoolchildren in Uganda stand in front of their new rainwater harvesting tank