| Location: | Lephalale, South Africa |
|---|---|
| Category: | Education |
| Published: | 13 August 2008 |
| Progress: | |
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Mpepule Primary School, is in desperate need of water and needs a borehole to install a Playpump (www.playpump.org) for the school and boarding house - this system uses a merry-go-round that utilises the energy of playing children. The farm school is located in a rural area of the Limpopo Province South Africa and consists of 70 pupils aged 5 to 14 and two dedicated teachers. All children are boarders, whose parents work on surrounding farms and although being a government school they receive little government funding.
One of the biggest challenges facing the school is water. There is no running water on the property and water is delivered by the farm owner, only twice a week. Although, this has resulted in a ‘water wise’ school it has hampered the school’s growth. Growing steadily in numbers each year extra pupils have placed a strain on this precious resource.
Despite limited resources Mpepule Primary continuously seeks to improve their environment. They were the proud recipients of a Green Flag award for Environmental Excellence through the Eco-schools programme in 2006 and 2007 and are aiming for their third flag in 2008. One of their projects for which they have received recognition is their organic vegetable garden. All school members play a role in looking after the garden which feeds the children year round. The garden has formed an integral part of the school curriculum over the past two years, providing an experiential learning experience for the classes (e.g. making compost from food waste, designing ‘water friendly’ ways of gardening).
The school is hoping to install a borehole fitted to a Playpump. This would enable the borehole to work without electricity, just using the energy of children playing. This would provide both water and a play-ground for the school, and allow them grow. We have arranged that a Playpump is donated free of charge if a borehole can be sunk on the school property.
One of the biggest challenges facing the school is water. There is no running water on the property and water is delivered by the farm owner, only twice a week. Although, this has resulted in a ‘water wise’ school it has hampered the school’s growth. Growing steadily in numbers each year extra pupils have placed a strain on this precious resource.
Despite limited resources Mpepule Primary continuously seeks to improve their environment. They were the proud recipients of a Green Flag award for Environmental Excellence through the Eco-schools programme in 2006 and 2007 and are aiming for their third flag in 2008. One of their projects for which they have received recognition is their organic vegetable garden. All school members play a role in looking after the garden which feeds the children year round. The garden has formed an integral part of the school curriculum over the past two years, providing an experiential learning experience for the classes (e.g. making compost from food waste, designing ‘water friendly’ ways of gardening).
The school is hoping to install a borehole fitted to a Playpump. This would enable the borehole to work without electricity, just using the energy of children playing. This would provide both water and a play-ground for the school, and allow them grow. We have arranged that a Playpump is donated free of charge if a borehole can be sunk on the school property.