Play is so important to the developing child. Whether they’re climbing trees or doing some fun activities for kids fun activities for kids, play can teach a whole range of skills from working with others to important physical capabilities. That’s why the PlayPumps model integrates some of the most important elements of play with another absolutely vital resource: water.
PlayPumps attempt to bring play to under resourced parts of South Africa by combining it with opportunities for better access to clean and hygienic sources of water. The long-term function of that model depends on access to maintenance and repair services –something that can be overlooked. That’s why we work so hard to care for and maintain our PlayPumps – and why ongoing support doing so is so important.
One of the main challenges we’ve faced while installing PlayPumps over the last couple of decades has centred around keeping them in good working order. PlayPumps are sturdy pieces of machinery designed to endure a variety of weather conditions and rough treatment at the hands of excited children, while remaining operational and safe to play on. However, like other important machines such as cars and ovens, they need regular upkeep, and they sometimes break down. This is where things can get a little tricky.
Ensuring proper upkeep of important technologies for international development is, in fact, a surprisingly common issue, and not one confined to sub-Saharan Africa. Rural communities the world over are home to whole hosts of machinery, medical equipment, cars and many other kinds of technology provided by social projects that were once in good working order but are not any longer. This is especially the case for machines designed to improve access to food and water, such as windmills and hand pumps, which often fail to serve their intended purpose in the long term due to a lack of proper maintenance and upkeep.
We work hard to keep our equipment in working order because we know that this is absolutely vital in making sure that the PlayPumps model keeps on helping children to keep up this aspect of their important play activities while bringing water to their community. To do so there must be the skills and expertise to keep the equipment running over the long haul. Maintenance is an underrated issue in the development of social projects like ours, and we hope 2017 is the year it finally receives the attention it deserves!