A group of London plumbers will be volunteering with international housing charity, Habitat for Humanity in Asia this summer.

The team of five volunteers from C Anderson & Sons in Fulham are taking part in Habitat for Humanity’s ‘Global Village’ programme in Tajikistan, Central Asia, from 22 July to 2 August.


Crawford Anderson, Jonathan Shaub, Tariq Nabul, Tim Moncur and Judd Pearson will spend 10 days working with members of the community in building and installing water filters and helping a family to build their own home.


Anderson, who appeared on Channel 4’s Shipwrecked and an episode of The Apprentice in May last year, said: “Our normal work is fixing taps and boilers, so making the water filters should hopefully be quite simple. We’ve been told to be prepared to dig in hot weather though!”


Anderson spent a couple of months building homes with Habitat for Humanity in Costa Rica six years ago and is pleased to be taking part in this next project.


“I was desperate to do something specific to my job,” he said.


“This project was great timing as it’s just what we wanted to do. We’re a family business and I wanted us to do something a bit different; raising money and helping people who have very little.”


Almost half the population in Tajikistan have no access to clean and safe water or decent housing.


Habitat for Humanity has been working with families there since 1999, helping them to build new homes, install water filters and renovate apartment blocks.


The water filters use locally available materials and help prevent water-borne diseases.


“People in Tajikistan are desperate to have access to clean water and decent homes that won’t make them sick” said Paul Butler, Habitat for Humanity’s volunteer programme manager.


“We’re dedicated to our vision of a world where everyone has a safe, decent place to live and that includes access to water. All around the world we see the positive impact that secure homes and clean water has on families and individuals, and the powerful support that volunteers and donors give.”


The team of plumbers will be the third group of UK volunteers from Habitat for Humanity to visit Tajikistan in the last 12 months.


To find out more about Habitat for Humanity visit http://www.habitatforhumanity.org.uk/plumbers.