Whilst millions of people around the world tuned in to watch some incredible tennis over the last couple of weeks, almost all will be unaware of the charitable side of the championships.
The Wimbledon Foundation has been working in partnership with WaterAid since 2017 to help make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene a normal part of daily life in healthcare centers and communities across Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi and Myanmar.
WaterAid primarily builds wells, solar panels, and rainwater catch tanks connected to taps and toilets.
It took artists from Sand in Your Eye 12 hours to create the tennis-court-sized portrait near No.1 Court, showing 10-year-old Tefy from Antsakambahiny village in Madagascar who, with the help of WaterAid and partners including the Wimbledon Foundation, now has clean water at school and near his home.
“We no longer fetch water down the hill anymore since we have taps in our school,” Tefy said in a statement. “The water here is very clean and fresh. We can open the taps and drink water whenever we want. We can wash our hands at any time and even bathe here if we want.”
One in ten people around the world don’t have regular access to clean drinking water, and one in five don’t have a decent sanitary place to go to the bathroom. So, the efforts of WaterAid are to be greatly applauded.
Why Wimbledon has White Attire Rules: The Wimbledon Championships, arguably the biggest fixture on the professional tennis calendar, is a tournament that is heavily embedded in tradition. Dating all the way back to 1877, one of the most distinctive features of the esteemed sporting competition is the very strict dress code imposed on the players who take part.