Water Park
- Posted by: TheresaEverline
- on February 15, 2007 at 2:54 pm
The PlayPumps Water System performs modern-day alchemy, converting the energy of children cavorting on a simple playground merry-go-round into clean water. As children spin, the system pumps water from an underground well into a 25-foot-high storage tank. Instead of the time-consuming task of hauling water, villagers need only turn a tap.
Co-founder Trevor Field has even combined the brilliant engineering of the pump with a dash of commercialism: Each 650-gallon tank sports four billboards, two for advertising and two for public-health messages. PlayPumps International raises the $14,000 for each system’s equipment and set-up costs. Ad revenues then pay for upkeep. One South African school principal has certainly noticed the difference a PlayPump brings: Now “learners can drink, a nutrition program is carried out with ease, our classrooms and toilets are clean,” he wrote. “And we have just planted new trees.”
There are now 700 PlayPumps scattered across southern Africa, and last year the U.S. government and several private foundations invested $16.4 million in the project—one-quarter of the money needed to reach a goal of 4,000 pumps by 2010, which would provide clean water to 10 million people in 10 countries across the continent. “It’s estimated that a child dies every 15 seconds from diseases related to unsafe water and inadequate sanitation,” says PlayPumps’ president, Jill Rademacher. “The water crisis is something we can’t ignore.”
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DISCUSSION: 11 Comments
I never new about this project! It is incredible to see it working both in action and in policy!
Why the advertising on the watertank?
The last thing the people in these countries need is to be sold to.
Thirsty? Peddle! Peddle! Peddle! And aren’t these merry-go-rounds notoriously dangerous? Talk about sweat labor. Counterproductive exaggerated negativity aside, I suppose this is an earnest effort? My concern is the exploitation of human energy. We may see this as fun. But how many spins on the roundabout in the blazing sun would it take before playtime became yet another grueling chore? There is a lot of interesting progress on the solar and wind energy fronts. I’d like to learn more about these efforts. How is funding for these projects? Is there any major concerted undertaking amongst the various groups? Is there comparative data exploring the advantages and disadvantages of pumps powered by different sources of energy?
Despite the bad rap earned by irresponsible advertising, advertising can be used to accomplish good ends. (This magazine for example.)
The fact is that projects all require money. Instead of moaning about the overprevalance of ads, we should find ways to use advertising for constructive ends. I applaud this idea.
If children are dying of unsafe water, then what is purifying the ground water that is being pumped by these PlayPumps? Breakdown it down for us. How clean is this playpumped water?
I wonder if the founders or anyone from the U.S. or Europe or Asia would drink this water. Would you?
Isn’t this also a form of child labor and How many times can one run in a circle? I would be bored if this is the only thing in the village to play with. These kids must be taking turns night and day.
Hear me now, believe me later, right now there is a better way of getting 99.99%pure water, and its not from the ground.
I’m waiting for answers.
The ads are used to help pay for the materials and maintenance for the pump. Plus, they use positive PSA-type messages on two of the four billboards (stay in school, AIDS awareness). Ads in this country may do little else but promote buying more stuff, but in this case, they are extremely beneficial.
The water is tapped from boreholes hitting clean water reservoirs. This is a much better option than walking five miles to gather potentially unclean water from rivers. Would I drink the water? Defintely.
Child labor? Hardly. The majority of children who live in the communities where PlayPump systems are installed do not have toys or other outlets for play. They play in shifts and no one is forced to play with the merry-go-round. Plus, compared to girls walking miles to gather water from streams, this is hardly child labor.
Visit PlayPump’s FAQ for more info.
If you have a solution to the water crisis, but all means, please let the world know and find an investor. Life’s too short for idleness with this issue.
Helping people to help themselves… to live saving clean water. Giving children something really fun to play on, at the same time, allowing them to stay in school rather than having to help haul water. This is not exploitation of child labor, it is genius. Using the water tower for advertising, which in turn pays for the maintenance of the system… this is right use of business. I do hope the advertisers are screened so that only needed, life supporting goods and services are advertised.
Great idea by Mr Fields. Also, read this interview about him I found, its about the playpumps program
interview with trevor fields
Students at Brigham Young University recently completed a project that is similar, but theirs is designed to generate electricity instead of pump water. See the article: http://byunews.byu.edu/archive08-jun-ghana.aspx
As in all complex problems, there are a variety of solutions. Playpumps are one, bio-sand filters are another. Visit purewaterfortheworld.org