Many of our supporters will know from past posts of the problems faced by our Ugandan Team with the elderly and erratic pick-up truck, which used to transport them and their kit to often remote villages, over what our friends over there describe as the “dancing roads”. This aptly describes the bone-shaking effect of travelling in rural South-West Uganda, where at times one wishes for a crash helmet as you jerk up and down, almost hitting the car roof!

Now much has changed! Sir John, who died from complications of Covid-19 on April 18, 2020, aged 88, most thoughtfully left WATSAN a wonderful legacy, and his wife Sheila thought it would be very appropriate to use this gift to purchase a brand new vehicle for WATSAN.

The new Toyota Hilux truck comes with a three-year warranty. Due to the Covid-19 lockdown in Uganda the transaction took some time to achieve, involving several 500-mile round trips to the capital, Kampala, before Canon Eric was able to take delivery. But what a wonderfully thoughtful gift by which we may all celebrate John’s amazing achievements and his association with WATSAN.

Canon Eric writes, “The acquired vehicle is operating very well, using relatively less fuel. We are certainly achieving more progress regarding water, sanitation and health projects under implementation like Bwanga Hill and Ruheza gravity flow scheme because of this reliable transport.”

As COP 26 gets underway, we remember John particularly as one of the very first scientists to begin investigations about the cause and implications of climate change, way back in the late 1950s and early 60s. He outlined his research in his 2013 autobiography In the Eye of the Storm (where WATSAN also gets an honourable mention on page 259), and has recently been honoured by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), of which he was Co-Chair.

Find out more about the projects John’s legacy will facilitate