Three heart attacks will not stop volunteer at 90

"What makes you feel good and full of life is when a little lad in Gambia says 'Ooo, that tastes lovely. What a beautiful taste.' That makes it worthwhile."

David Rawson says three heart attacks have not stopped him from helping to make hand-operated water filters that are sent to disaster zones around the world.

The 90-year-old, from Bakewell in Derbyshire, has volunteered at Aquabox in nearby Cromford for 27 years and was awarded the British Empire Medal for his efforts.

He joins the charity's production line twice a week, most recently helping fill a shipment heading for Nepal that will provide clean drinking water for up to 26,000 people.

Rawson joined the charity's team of volunteers after a trip to Gambia to support his friend in building a hospital clinic for pregnant mothers.

"I noticed the water system over there was terrible, so when I first heard about Aquabox, I came and joined," he said.

He helped develop a new model of filter in 2011 and took the first 11 units back to Gambia, of which nine are still working.

He said 44,000 of those filtration units have since been manufactured in Cromford and sent across the globe.

In May, David suffered the first of three heart attacks and had a stent inserted into his arm which revealed a faulty artery.

“‘I'll soon mend it', the doctor said, and that's it, I've not had one since, touch wood," he said.

“I’ll carry on volunteering as long as I can, as long as I can walk. Yeah, I love it.”

The charity has recently refined its production line and product design, increasing the number of water filters it can make from 2,700 to over 8,000 units a year.

Dominic Wish, a volunteer and trustee of Aquabox, has been instrumental in making these changes.

“A disaster like we've seen in Nepal, it happens overnight, people have no access to clean water, we need our filters to get in there fast,” he said.

The charity regularly makes shipments to Nepal, but has received a boost in donations since the flash floods which hit the country and Tibet at the end of August.

“We've now got a shipment here of 1,260 family filters and 15 community filters,” said charity trustee Rob Barlow.

“That's enough material to provide clean drinking water for 26,000 people.

“We're just waiting for space on a plane at the moment.

“We're hoping in the next two or three days this shipment will leave here and will be in the Nepal within a matter of one or two weeks.

“We then need to buy parts to carry on making more filters ready for the next asset or a second shipment to Nepal."

So there is plenty more assembly work to be done for David and the team of 164 volunteers at Aquabox.

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