Grey clouds seemed to claw and pull themselves over the rolling hills, smothering the rich, green grass of the Komkhulu area just outside Butterworth. Old ladies wrapped up from head to toe in whatever assortment of gloves, scarves, beanies and coats they could put together while dogs curled up into balls so tight that even their ears remained still, allowing the flies to settle where they may. The morning chill gradually gave over to the afternoon wind and rain spatter, keeping those that did not have to be outside inside.
But still the two ladies made their journey down from where they stayed, slowly making their way through a flock of sheep and past the sleeping shepherd. The women were only two out of the estimated 5060 with merely basic access to water in the Amathole municipal district in the Eastern Cape. And they were the lucky ones. Roughly 4100 people in their district had absolutely no access to a basic human right – water.
Each with a 20 litre bucket in hand they slowly made their way over to the nearest source of clean drinking water – a PlayPump. Skirts billowing in the wind and the eldest’s doek tied firmly in place, the ladies started turning the merry-go-round. “Eh!”… “Eh!” … Grunts of effort mixed with light laughter carried on the wind, but still could not quite drown out the sound of water gushing from under the ground. Able to make 16 rotations per minute, the merry-go-round powers a pump forty meters down. This concept of a PlayPump draws water from the underlying borehole into the nearby 2 500 litre storage tank. The tank is surrounded by advertising boards which carry sponsored messages usually relating to issues of health and safety. Once satisfied with their hard work, an easy turn of a tap sends fresh, clean drinking water gushing into their buckets.
Over 1000km’s away the scenery in Hammanskraal could hardly be more different. Temperatures soar above 40 degrees Celsius, scorching the already parched land. As the sun peaks, only the insects seem to have any energy, their chirrups bouncing across the ground. Small groups of children play jump rope under the trees, goats lay in the shadows of buildings and men take relief in their beers under shaded verandas of local spaza shops. Water in Hammanskraal in far more readily available than in Komkhulu, but still many complain of highly unreliable municipal water. Some schools in the area struggle to provide any source of water for children. At Tladi Stadt Primary School, a school with over 300 students, a lack of water has meant that the electric toilets have had to be abandoned. Students and staff now have to share a small block of pit toilets due to the lack of readily available water.
Designed to work best at primary schools, specifically for children to play on, those schools with PlayPumps contrast starkly with those that do not. Like at the PlayPump in Komkhulu, laughter swings around and children clamour for their turn on the once colourful roundabout. As the pump becomes overcrowded, one girl tumbles to the well trodden ground, a small cloud of red dust erupting under her small frame. With an even louder peel of laughter, she bounces back up and runs along with the other children, her now red backside obvious amongst the other green and white checked uniforms. At the tap, a staff member walks off with a bucket which she uses in the kitchen to clean the children’s plates after their lunch.
In rural communities with no access to municipal water, it is often women and children who are forced to make the tiresome trek to the nearest source of water, a source not always guaranteed to be fit for human consumption. With the PlayPump providing a nearby source of clean water, the social and economic benefits are far reaching, resulting in better health, increased overall school attendance, improved education and general well being.
Since the installation of the first PlayPump in 1996 approximately 1200 PlayPumps have been installed in South Africa alone. Due to the cost of drilling boreholes, pumps are only installed over already existing boreholes. These boreholes are first tested in order to ensure that the water is of sufficient quality as well as quantity. Should the borehole fail any of these tests, a PlayPump will not be installed. The whole process costs roughly R120 000 therefore the company relies on donors to sponsor the installation of the PlayPump, allowing them to provide the pump for free to those who need it most. Over and above the cost of the PlayPump installation, donors can elect to either advertise their brand or sponsor community messaging on the advertising boards surrounding the water tank. The revenue from this contributes towards the maintenance of the PlayPumps.
A non-profit organisation, the company is constantly looking for new ways to attract donors to continue their work. Currently they are working on a project whereby a bottled water producer will donate part of their profit margin on each bottle of water sold to the PlayPump. Backed by the Restaurant Association of South Africa it is hoped that the project will initially benefit from the sale of water in restaurants and then expand to other outlets. With help from projects such as this, the company hopes to continue their work not only in South Africa, but in Lesotho as well, helping provide a form of relief to those who need it.
For more information visit http://www.playpumps.co.za/