PlayPumps visited & maintained in North West Province
On a recent maintenance trip to North West Province we maintained 30 PlayPump sites No sooner had the team completed the work on the PlayPump than the Ga Moloka Villager’s were lining up to collect much needed water for drinking and cooking. This PlayPump was installed in 2008. The smiles on the faces of the women a Matsatseng Village 2 confirmed how happy they were to have their PlayPump providing water. All PlayPumps, though robust...
read moreMaintenance of our PlayPumps
Play is so important to the developing child. Whether they’re climbing trees or doing some fun activities for kids fun activities for kids, play can teach a whole range of skills from working with others to important physical capabilities. That’s why the PlayPumps model integrates some of the most important elements of play with another absolutely vital resource: water. PlayPumps attempt to bring play to under resourced parts of South Africa by combining it with opportunities for better access to clean and hygienic sources of water. The...
read morePlayPumps visited late 2016
We recently visited 12 PlayPump installations to carry out inspections and where necessary do maintenance. The PlayPump at Manxeba Village was installed in the Eastern Cape in 2009. When our team arrived they found these two ladies using the PlayPump water to wash their blankets and also have a quick drink. It isn’t a large community, but they are very reliant on their PlayPump for their water supply as their only other source is an unreliable community tap, which often gets cut off. The children at Endulwini Village have a...
read moreNew PlayPumps in Northern Cape
Last month, thanks to generous donor funding, we installed three PlayPumps in the Northern Cape, one of the driest areas of South Africa. All three schools reported a very serious shortage of water. They all had to rely on water from the community and when the community pumps broke the school could go for three to four days without any water. At Metsimantis Primary, they had an old hand pump which had been broken for many years. The school had to rely on the unreliable community water because there are no municipal deliveries. At Cardington...
read more14 year old raises funds for maintenance
14 year old Samantha Falcon of The Sacred Heart Convent, Connecticut, USA on hearing of the drought in South Africa and the desperate need for reliable clean drinking water for the rural poor decided to embark on a fund raising drive and chose to help Roundabout Water Solutions with the maintenance of their existing PlayPumps. Sam, whose parents were born in Johannesburg, South Africa, contacted Roundabout Water Solutions and asked how she could help, and how much she needed to raise to ensure a PlayPump would be back to working order. She...
read moreHis Thirsty Community needs help
We recently received a letter from Modudi asking for help for his community. He said (abbreviated) My never-say-die spirit continues and I have no choice BUT to continue. I have been writing emails for the last 11 years to countless companies and their foundations, both national and multi-national. Have written countless emails of plea to relevant government departments, all bearing no fruit or action. My sprawling rural village of Tafelkop just outisde of the small town of Groblersdal on the border of Mpumalanga/Limpopo was established in...
read moreBeautful scenery but no reliable water
Near Clarens in the Free State, set among rolling hills, is a small farm school, which up until now had no reliable water. Sometimes the children used to leave school early because they were thirsty. Though schools in South Africa normally give the children a meal, without reliable clean water they were unable to cook meals for them, resulting in the children going hungry. There was a water delivery, but that could take up to two weeks to come, and the water from the last water delivery by that time had run out. Thanks to generous donors...
read moreLimpopo & Mpumalanga Maintenance trip 2015
In July we went to Limpopo and Mpumalanga and carried out maintenance work on 27 of our PlayPumps. We were able to do this thanks to generous donations from many donors. Like a car, the PlayPumps do need to be maintained as cylinders can become worn, pipes can develop leaks and taps and soil crete need repairing. Any trip into rural areas of South Africa is expensive because of the cost of petrol, accommodation and labour, but thanks to numerous donors helping us we are able to devise routes where we can visit the maximum number of PlayPumps...
read moreLet the water continue to flow
In March, thanks to continued support from wonderful donors, we maintained 29 PlayPumps in KwaZulu Natal. Out of this group was Mdlenevu Primary School, which was installed 14 years ago in 2001 and apart from replacing the forcehead, changing the threaded rod and patching the soil crete it was still working and the kids continue to play happily on it. One of the other sites was a community PlayPump near Vryhead which was installed in 2007. The community does not have a reliable water supply and is dependent on the PlayPump for water....
read moreFree State site visit
In February 2015, we visited the Free State Province of South Africa, and went to 11 of our PlayPump sites. With the temperature hitting 42 degrees Celsius on most days we were expecting to find the children lethargic. But we were amazed to arrive at school after school and find the children playing happily on their PlayPumps during the break. One principal told us “they are no longer fighting” they are now playing together, this PlayPump not only brings us water, but also brings us harmony in the school. The children come to...
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