A co-founder of a charity who was applauded for helping 2.8 million people in Africa get access to clean water died in a sports vehicle accident.
On July 6, about 5.20 p.m., Paul Searle, 62, of Oakington, was murdered when his yellow Ultima Can Am exited the M11 close to Grantchester, Cambridgeshire, and entered a wooded area.
Paul co-founded the humanitarian organization The Africa Trust after serving as the director of one of the biggest water cooler companies in the UK, AquAid.
Paul’s family paid tribute to him by saying that his work had made clean water more accessible to 2.77 million people in Africa.
Paul was a devoted husband, father, son, and friend to many, according to a family statement made public on Monday. He will be greatly missed.
He devoted the final 20 years of his life to assisting those in need and promoting the gospel.
Over 2.77 million people in Africa now have access to safe drinking water as a direct result of Paul’s philanthropic efforts, and an additional 16,000 individuals can support themselves and their communities through the businesses he helped establish.
“We are very proud of his accomplishments and are confident that his charity, the Africa Trust, will ensure that his legacy lives on for many years to come.
We will miss his hearty laugh, bright smile, and outsized personality. He was required in paradise, but he will always be our beloved outlaw.
More than 50,000 businesses in the UK receive water from Paul’s company AquAid, which he launched in 1998.
Since 1998, AquAid claims to have given more than £6.5 million to support developing nations in Africa.
According to the website of the Charity Commission, Paul co-founded The Africa Trust in 2012, which has operations in eight African nations, including Kenya and South Africa.
The Africa Trust seeks to eradicate poverty in Africa, according to the organization’s mission statement on its website.
“This entails providing reliable sources of clean, usable water and adequate sanitary facilities.”
The funeral service for Mr. Searle is set for Thursday, July 21, at 11 a.m. at St. Andrews, Oakington.