PlayPumps: Bringing Clean Water, Better Life to African Communities
Kids play, and water pumps. The innovative “PlayPump” is bringing clean water—and a better life—to hundreds of thousands of families in rural Africa.
Water-related diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. Clean drinking water is critical for human survival and economic well being; yet, two of every five Africans lack access to an improved water supply. Throughout Africa, rural water services lag far behind urban services.
Last year, while visiting Botshabelo, South Africa, Jean and Steve Case (who are VPP Founding Investors) were introduced to an innovative solution—the PlayPump water system, a child’s merry-go-round attached to a water pump and storage tank that provides safe, clean drinking water and powerful educational messages to children and families in schools and communities in rural Africa. They knew immediately that they wanted to help bring more PlayPumps and the benefits of easy access to clean water to millions more Africans.
PlayPumps operate much like a windmill on its side; as children spin on the merry-go-round, clean water pumps into a storage tank—a unique feature that other pump technologies don't have. The PlayPump can generate up to 370 gallons of water per hour, producing a larger volume of water than other manual pumps with considerably less effort. Four billboards surround the PlayPump storage tank, providing a rare opportunity for companies and public health organizations to reach rural populations. Two sides carry consumer product messages, and the other two carry public service messages, including messages about HIV/AIDS prevention. The revenue generated from the advertising pays for maintenance and ensures each installation's sustainability.
PlayPumps join together an entrepreneurial business with an international, cross-sector coalition of governments, NGOs, companies, foundations, and individual donors, including the International Finance Corporation and UNICEF. The Case Foundation joined this partnership in 2005, attracted by the initiative’s leadership, cross-sector tapestry of partners, and entrepreneurial business model, as well as the opportunity to bring more joy into the lives of underserved children.
As Jean explains, "PlayPumps represents an innovative solution that harnesses the power of children's play to bring clean water to rural schools and villages throughout sub-Saharan Africa. We have been so pleased to see the early support and momentum with this initiative as we march toward the goal of bringing clean water to 10 million people by 2010." Jean, Steve, and their children have traveled together in Africa, where they support several other organizations and individuals that reflect the mission of the Case Foundation.
The foundation, like VPP and other high-engagement funders, is hands-on in its work and offers not just financial assistance, but strategic assistance as well. In the case of PlayPumps, the Case Foundation has funded a business plan through Accenture in South Africa and a separate monitoring and evaluation effort to track success over time. Stateside, the Foundation has created a 501(c)3 and marketing tools to support an aggressive fundraising campaign that will launch later this summer.
Both the business plan and the additional funding will be critical to scaling from 700 PlayPumps serving one million people in South Africa to providing clean, safe, drinking water, educational messages, and a place to play to more than ten million people throughout Sub-Saharan Africa by 2010. |
