Kids play, water pumps.  The PlayPump water system is an innovative, sustainable, and fun way to provide easy access to clean drinking water and improve the quality of life in Africa.  A "PlayPump" is a child's merry-go-round attached to a water pump and storage tank that provides safe water and powerful educational messages to rural and peri-urban African schools and communities.  It is a next-generation water system, with a decade of maintenance sustained through advertising revenue.

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.  Nearly 700 PlayPumps, however, are bringing safe water to a million people in South Africa.  The manufacturer of the PlayPump water system, Roundabout Outdoor, continues to install new pumps in South Africa as it expands to Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Zambia.   The goal is to install 4,000 PlayPumps by 2010, bringing an estimated 10 million people in 10 African countries the benefits of ready access to clean drinking water.  

While the health benefits of a clean water supply are critical, other benefits flow from the PlayPump as well.  Children are playing and staying in school longer instead of hauling water.  Women benefit, too, as they are less likely to suffer an injury from transporting heavy containers of water great distances, and they can put the time saved to more productive uses, such as starting small enterprises that bring additional food and income to their families.
 
In addition to helping solve the problem of access to clean water, the PlayPump is sustainable.   The 2,500-liter water tank provides a rare advertising opportunity in rural and peri-urban communities.  With the four sides of the tank doubling as billboards, two sides are leased for commercial advertising while the remaining two sides are leased for messages that promote healthy behaviors.  Advertising revenue pays for pump maintenance.

When Jean and Steve Case first saw this unique technology in Boikarabelo, South Africa, they immediately wanted to help bring more PlayPumps and the benefits of easy access to clean water to millions of people.  Today, the Case Foundation is collaborating with PlayPumps International and its other partners -- governments, international agencies, nonprofits, corporations, and individuals -- to donate PlayPump water systems and other important resources to schools and communities, and bring better health, joyful play, and a brighter future to millions of families in Africa.