Pupils at a Kirkby school gained an insight into how a locally-based international Rotary charity is helping to relieve the plight of war-torn and disaster-hit people around the world.

Kirkby Rotary Club and Kingsway Primary joined together to show children how an Aquabox emergency box and filtration unit converts dirty water into an immediate drinkable supply.

The club funded mini-buses from Kirkby’s Our Centre for Kingsway’s Year Six pupils to travel to the Rotary Aquabox depot near Wirksworth.

Youngsters helped volunteers fill units with some of the 70 humanitarian goods that are included with the all-important water filters.

They saw how the filters were assembled from 44 parts by volunteers.

Among the thousands of units sent from Wirksworth every year, recent consignments have gone to Nepal, Cameroon, Haiti and Syria.

The school donated £125 to buy an Aquabox that pupils helped to fill.

Before the visit, the school was given a talk by Aquabox expert Rotarian Bob Jackson, who drank a glass of water filtered straight from a bucket of dirty liquid.

School head Samantha Bradbury said: “The visit helped the children to develop awareness of the vital need to purify water in disaster areas and to understand the humanitarian items sent with the Aquabox.”

The visit was arranged by Kirkby Rotary’s projects committee. The chairman, Rotarian Francis Newenham, said: “The Rotary club’s work with schools is a very important part of our ongoing support of the local community.”

Pictured are pupils helping volunteer Sandra Jackson to fill an Aquabox.