For Safe Water, Just Play At The Pump (NAPSA)—Bringing clean drinking water to thousands around the world could be a matter of child’s play. That’s the idea behind a program that uses playground equip- & ment to power water pumps that supply African schools and villages. The units are actually children’s merry-go-rounds attached to water pumps. As children spin the merry-go-rounds, clean drinking water is pumped into a 660gallon storage tank. The organization behind the pumps, called PlayPumps International, plans to have 4,000 systems installed in 10 sub-Saharan African countries by 2010. It’s also sponsoring the “100 Pumps in 100 Days” campaign, which aims to raise $1.4 million to fund its pump water systems by June 29. The initiative will engage K-12 and college students, clubs, faithbased organizations and others in raising money and awareness of water-related issues. Its action kit, which is available at www.playpumps.org, includes 100 ideas for fundraising outreach. A Waveof Support The “100 Pumps in 100 Days” program has attracted the attention of celebrities such as Jay-Z, as well as athletes including tennis star Nicole Vaidisova. “Playing tennis has allowed meto travel the world and I’ve become aware of how closely connected weall are,” says Vaidisova. “It’s important for us to work together to makesure that no one lacks something as basic as clean water to drink.” A program usesrudimentary chil- dren’s merry-go-rounds to pump water in sub-Saharan countries. Additionally, PlayPumps International works with a numberof businesses and charitable organizations including Save The Children. A Growing Need More than 1 billion people worldwide have no access to clean drinking water and water-related diseases are the leading cause of death in the world, taking the lives of 6,000 people a day. In fact, it’s estimated that a child dies from a preventable, waterborne illness every 15 seconds. A Brighter Future Each American household uses more than 94,000 gallons of fresh water annually, enough to fill two and one-half Olympic-sized swimming pools. It’s hoped that the new pump program will help people realize what an important resource water is and encourage them to help others around the world get as much water as they need. For more information, visit www.playpumps.org.
