PlayPumps International

I think that this project is so clever. I actually came across this project about a year ago at a water exhibition held at the Natural History Museum in New York City...

PlayPumps International, a non profit organization, has designed, fabricated and put into opporation an extremely easy and, believe it or not, fun way to maintain a water pump system by utilizing the largely available child work force in Africa in order to pump fresh water from the depths of the Earth's aquifers into a large storage tank.

Now I am not talking about the horrible manipulation of children's human rights, but I am talking about water pumping equipment that doubles as playground equipment; more specifically the timeless and beloved playground icon: the merri-go-round.

Essentially how it works is as the children spin around on the merry-go-round it pumps up fresh water found about 40 meters below the ground and passing it to a 2,500 liter reservoirs tank seven meters above ground.

So far, 1,000 Play Pumps have been donated and installed in communities in South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia.

The project has begun in sub-Saharan Africa, where girls are responsible for fulfilling the jobs of water carrier. Because they have to carry water back from springs and lakes, they are usually late for school and have to join the boys later on in the day.
With this system, the idea is that all the kids help the process move faster and the girls don’t have to be late for school, improving their education opportunities.