New 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...
14 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...
His 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...
Beautful 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...
Limpopo & 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...
Let 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...
