A South Norfolk business that used money originally set aside for the sponsorship of a Christmas tree to fund the digging of a bore well in India has helped to fund a second through donations of antiques.
The decision of award-winning antiques and vintage centre Cornucopia in Harleston the fund the long-term gift of clean, safe drinking water to a small village caught the imagination of customers and now they have helped fund a second well with more planned.
Cornucopia, opened in the South Norfolk town in 2012 by David Charles and Glen Philpott, was chosen to sponsor the town's Christmas tree in 2016. But when sponsorship was given to another firm in 2017, they decided to use the money they had put aside for lighting the tree towards another cause.
Mr Philpott said: 'After that original idea we decided to have a stall here in the centre where people can donate things and traders donate things and from everything on that stand every penny goes towards the well fund. That's how we have done it through selling stuff that people have donated.
'It has caught people's imaginations but we were always going to carry on with it and we are already collecting money for the third well. We are hoping to get enough money for another well to be dug before Christmas. That is our aim at least.'
Working with the Australian-based Christian charity BareFoot Ministries, the business has sponsored digging of the bore wells which cost more than £3,000.
The first well was located in a small rural village near the port of Visnapathnam, in South East India and provided a community including an orphanage and church with clean running water. The second is in the Yeleswaram area of India and is already being used daily by villagers.
Initial inspiration to get involved with the project came from a family bequest.
Mr Philpott said: 'My partner's grandmother who lived in Australia was 98 when she passed away and she said in her will she didn't want headstones or anything like that she wanted to have a well dug in India. We thought we would like to carry that cause on.
'We haven't been over to see the wells yet but we are intending to do now we have done the two we definitely want to visit.'
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