Posted by Anne Kirkpatrick
Over 4,000 People Benefit from Global Grant
Ten schools in Limpopo, South Africa,  have been successfully equipped with a reliable water supply.
 
The Rotary Clubs of Polokwane and Rotary Club of Pietersburg 100 from District 9400 and Ankeny from District 6000 in the United States managed the $161,844 Global Grant.
 
Hy Vee Corporation, USA was a sponsor and Blessman Ministries provided skills and motivated the clubs to get involved.
 
Providing Clean Water Infrastructure in South Africa
The main project objectives were to provide productive boreholes (wells) to schools in remote rural villages where there was either no supply of water or the supply was unreliable.
 
Effective water supply management committees were set up at each village to ensure ownership and ongoing maintenance of systems that were to be set in place.
Initially, a large number of schools in Limpopo which are struggling for a basic water supply were identified.
 
The geology of each area was investigated to determine the physical possibility of finding groundwater and the feasibility of a successful drilling project at each site. This process, taking place across much of the vast Limpopo Province, took 12 months.
 
At the end of that process, ten rural schools were identified as those most likely to benefit from the project.
 
Once the water quality and yield and depth of each school’s borehole had been determined and the appropriate pump had been identified, a service provider in each area was contracted to install and secure the pump, piping, tap and storage tank.
 
With the sustainability of the project in view, a water committee was set up at each school, a process successfully facilitated by Kabelo Bopape of Blessman Ministries.
 
Signs were erected at each school, identifying the role of Rotary International and Rotary Clubs in South Africa, Blessman Ministries and Hy Vee, in the water project.