Two local Christian Aid supporters have completed a challenge to see what it is like to fetch water over a long distance. Last Thursday (May 6), John McArdle (68) and Tony Brookes (73) walked from their homes in Hexham to the water’s edge at Corbridge to fill up containers of water, and then walked back with it. The annual Christian Aid Week appeal is running from Monday, May 10 until Sunday, May 16 this year. Hexham Christian Aid Group said Rose Katanu (67) walks five miles every two days in eastern Kenya to fetch 80 litres of water for her six grandchildren in her care. They said when Rose was young, the “rivers flowed with water and the crops bore fruit, but extreme weather caused by the climate crisis is making it harder and harder to survive the frequent droughts”.