IPHE man takes up the Anneka challenge

Working with Anneka Rice in an area in Sri Lanka devastated by the Tsunami on Boxing Day in 2004 is ‘possibly the hardest thing I have ever done’ — says Dave Woodcock, an area co-ordinator and member of the Institute of Plumbing & Heating Engineering. He was hand picked to help rebuild and equip a maternity clinic, rebuild a child-friendly play centre and renovate and equip a community cricket pavilion — all in just five days. ‘He explains, ‘No-one should believe that these makeover programmes are an easy pre-setup thing with a bit of MDF and some glue. The project wasn’t a quick refurb. job, it was a total rebuild, some of it from the ground up. We had 12 British builders and around 30 Sri Lankan workers. We also had the privilege of help from four of the British survivors of the Tsunami.’ The challenge involved starting on site at 6.30 a.m. and working until 6 p.m., with half an hour for lunch. Volunteers had to work in 38°C and 85% RH. The project was shown on ITV on Boxing Day.