Water is hard to get (and getting harder – the limited resource of the future?)
In drought stricken areas of the world water is the number one need. It takes time to walk to a pump, it takes energy to carry gallons of water and the folks who carry most of the water are (no surprise here) the women. The time and energy a young girl spends carrying water for her family could be better spent in school.
I saw this on TV this week, on Frontline World, and it struck me as one of the most brilliant ideas to bring together many needs and solve them with a stroke:
Pumps bring up water for a community; but pumps require energy (human or otherwise) to operate:
Kids have boundless energy; but in many areas they lack decent, safe playground equipment;
Folks in these areas often are underemployed; the pumps need to be maintained.
Maintenance requires a budget and salaries; ad space on the water towers can be sold.
HIV/AIDS education is a major problem in many of these areas; a certain percentage of the ad space can be dedicated to this.
Access to clean water makes everything better and reduces the size of the auxillary problems – here’s a solution that touches so many aspects of a community.
Please visit the playpumps site, look around and see what a brilliant idea this is. And if you’re inclined, make a donation to this very clever way to catch several birds at one time; and give them a bath!