The Play Pump by Jennifer Grigsby

The PlayPump
By Jennifer Grigsby

I. Introduction
Almost 3.6 million people throughout the world die from water-related diseases every year. In sub-Saharan Africa, as in many other places, the lack of water supply and sanitation are to blame. Dirty, unreliable water pumps are few and far between. In some villages in South Africa, women and girls walk miles every day to carry the dirty water back to their villages. At the age of 42, Trevor Field (a successful business executive) decided he wanted to give something back to the world. He worked with an inventor and in 1994, the first two PlayPumps were installed. The PlayPump is a merry-go-round that’s attached to a water pump. When kids play on it (spin it), it pumps clean, cool drinking water from the ground – it is a more efficient way to get clean water.

                                                            Figure 1: Play Pump Labeled

                                                          Figure 2: Play Pump Numbered Diagram

II. Discovery
More and more PlayPumps were installed in South Africa’s Masinga district. In 1999, South Africa’s President Nelson Mandela came to the opening of a new school where a PlayPump had been installed, which was great publicity for the PlayPump. By 2005, about 700 PlayPumps had been installed throughout South Africa. In 2006, Laura Bush announced a $16.4 million grant toward building more pumps in South African communities, and PlayPumps International intended to provide water for up to 10 million people by 2010. To date, over 1,000 PlayPumps are in use in 5 African countries.
The PlayPump is beneficial to many South African communities not just because it pumps out clean drinking water powered by kids having fun, but also because it benefits the economy: the water towers also function as billboards. Some of these billboards/water towers are advertisements to help finance the pump, and some are campaigns such as AIDS awareness.

III. Biography of Investigator
55-year-old Trevor Field was born in Birmingham, England. He is a British businessman who has lots of experience in the industries of outdoor advertising, printing, and publishing in South Africa and the United Kingdom. He moved to South Africa in 1975 and worked there 5 years installing cables so people could watch TV. In 1980, he joined First General Media (a magazine group) and was the National Sales Manager in South Africa and the United States.
In 1995, however, his focus became solely on the PlayPump water systems. He teamed up with Paul Ristic (an inventor) in 1996 and they officially founded the Roundabout Outdoor company. “Mr. Field is the marketing director of Roundabout Outdoor, the founder of the PlayPump™ water pumping system, and an active social entrepreneur.” (***)

IV. Impact on the World/Humanity
The PlayPump has made a huge impact on the lives of over 2 million people in Africa. It provides entertainment for children at schools while also providing clean, safe drinking water and advertisements. Not only does this make healthier people and happier kids, but it also creates a greater sense of gender equality among schools and villages. Before the PlayPump, women were the ones who had to go out and carry the water back to their families. Girls sometimes had to miss school or get there late because this was also what was expected of them. Females got the water and males went to school/did the “more important” stuff. But now, girls are getting just as good of an education as boys, and since boys and girls both play on the PlayPump, both genders are contributing to the community’s water supply and neither has to take a toll for it: one gender is not superior to the other.
There are far less water-related illnesses because of the PlayPump, and in the best cases, life is a whole lot easier and safer. However, there are some cases that didn’t work out as well as others. Some of the pumps have broken, and the villages have been without a water supply of their own (they had to share with a neighboring village) for 6 months. But 80 to 90 percent of the pumps installed are a success and are improving the lives of many Africans more every day.

V. Journal Article Review
When children spin on the PlayPump, clean water is pumped from under the ground into a 2,500-liter tank (7 meters tall). The faucet is easy to use, so it is an easy task for adults and children to draw water. Excess water is diverted from the tank back into the ground (borehole).
All four sides of the water tank are used for billboards (2 sides for consumer advertising, 2 sides for health and educational messages). The money from leasing out advertisement space pays for pump maintenance.
The pump is easy to operate, reasonable in terms of costs and maintenance, can produce up to 1,400 liters of water per hour, and is effective up to a depth of 100 meters. It is durable, sturdy, and simple. However, it is not entirely safe for children because the pump can spin very fast, and they could fall off and land on the concrete base. When the pumps are being installed, there is no onsite supervision. Combined with the standard of poor quality of workmanship, this results in unreliable pumps that break and require more maintenance than is given.
There is an issue of child labor in the PlayPump project. Some adults actually pay children to “play”, the pump can be very tiring, and the community’s water source relies on children.
Since the water is virtually free, the value of water is decreased. However, the cost of the pump itself has gone from $6,500 to $14,000 within the last 2 years without explanation to clients.
All in all, the PlayPump is a brilliant and innovative idea. However, it has many problems that need to be revised. It can be improved with some minor modifications.

Video Links:                                                      Video 1

                                                                             Video 2

                                                                            Video 3

References:
   Trevor Field Bio |   Premiere Motivational Speakers Bureau. (n.d.).   Premiere Motivational Speakers Bureau. Retrieved December 12, 2010, from http://premierespeakers.com/trevor_field/bio
   Problem with the PlayPump | PRI's The World. (2010, June 29). PRI's The World. Retrieved December 12, 2010, from http://www.theworld.org/2010/06/29/problem-with-the-playpump/
   Water.org » Water Facts. (n.d.). Water.org. Retrieved December 12, 2010, from http://water.org/learn-about-the-water-crisis/facts/
   Watson, S. (n.d.). HowStuffWorks "How PlayPump Works". HowStuffWorks. Retrieved December 12, 2010, from http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-tech/sustainable/playpump.htm
Journal Article:
   An Evaluation of the PlayPump® Water System. (n.d.). PBS. Retrieved December 12, 2010, from www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/southernafrica904/flash/pdf/unicef_pp_report.pdf

Pictures:
   PlayPump helps quench thirst the fun and simple way - technabob. (1930, January 9). cool gadgets, gizmos, games and weird science - technabob. Retrieved December 12, 2010, from http://technabob.com/blog/2009/01/30/playpump-helps-quench-thirst/
   Chambers, A. (1924, November 9).  Africa's not-so-magic roundabout | Andrew Chambers | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk .  Latest news, comment and reviews from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk . Retrieved December 12, 2010, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/24/africa-charity-water-pumps-roundabouts
Videos:
   NationalGeographic. (2009, January 8). YouTube - Playpumps International. YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.. Retrieved December 12, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjgcHOWcWGE
   YouTube - PBS FRONTLINE World Video |  PlayPump  . (2014, November 9). YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.  . Retrieved December 12, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrmQ9s2t1Jw
   YouTube - PLAYPUMP BBC 2 - JULY '09  . (1929, August 9). YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.  . Retrieved December 12, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg_vWWqj-2M

1. play pump labeled
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrmQ9s2t1Jw
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjgcHOWcWGE
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg_vWWqj-2M
5. play pump numbered diagram