Elephant Pump water project

This project will contribute towards people having access to safe and clean water in rural Malawi. Through the provision of clean water, rural communities can lead healthier lives. Community members, particularly women and children who traditionally carry the 'water burden' can have more time for other activities such as attending school, growing vegetables, looking after livestock and other economic activities.

Current status

Over the next 12 months Pump Aid's pump building teams will be working in Mchinji and at least one other district, reaching the most vunerable communities and delivering lasting, sustainable water projects. This year, in Malawi, Pump Aid hopes to deliver at least 500 Elephant Pump water projects.

An Elephant Pump Water Project consists of several steps:

- Pump Aid works together with local people, traditional leaders and government authorities in Sub Saharan Africa.
- Together we identify the water project sites.
- Together we prepare the site and dig the well or upgrade an existing water point.
- Pump Aid manufactures the metal pump parts in-country and increasingly we use skilled local welders.
- Pump Aid staff cast the concrete pump parts and increasingly we use skilled local artisans.
- Together with the local people we install the pump on site.
- Pump Aid trains Water Point Committees to maintain their pump.
- Pump Aid carries out health and hygiene education in the community.
- Pump Aid revisits the village to monitor progress, give tips and answer questions.
- Pump Aid keeps an eye out for any serious repairs (e.g. deepening of dried-up wells).

Once funding has received, Pump Aid will be able to complete the project within a time-scale of 1-3 months.

Access to clean and safe water can have a significant difference on the lives of those that have been involved in an Elephant Pump water project;

- Through access to clean and safe water an improvement in water quality and quantity contributes to a 15-25% reduction of childhood deaths caused by diarrhoea
- Having access to a water pump can greatly reduce distance walked and time spent by women and girls fetching water. It helps reduce violence against women, as well as giving them more time for education and economic activities, which can help families generate extra income.
- Households can also save considerable time and expenditure for example on boiling water or the purchase of expensive water from vendors.
- Access to safe water enables people to grow food throughout the year. Vegetable patches and rearing livestock provide income and better nutrition.
- Improved sanitation in schools can increase school attendance, particularly for girls.

Goals

• Reduce rates of cholera, dysentery and trachoma
• Reduce the travelling distance for collecting water
• Enable closer water access to increase farm yields
• Increase amount of time available for education
• For more information see 'Goals overview' on previous page

The Elephant Pump is a simple, innovative and effective hand pump based on a 2000 year old Chinese rope and washer design. All of the Elephant Pumps components are locally made in our workshops. The communities themselves are asked to contribute materials such as bricks towards the lining of the well and the pump itself. They are also involved in every step of the pump build, ensuring that there is a strong sense of community ownership over the pump.

With the involvement of Local District Authorities, a community Water Point Committee and maintenance training. The community acquires the knowledge and the ability to maintain the pump themselves. This in turn adds to the community ownership over the pump and emphasises the need for this project to be seen as more than pump building, but a full and sustainable water project.