Our Approach
Pump Aid is rooted in the communities it supports which forms part of its uniqueness. It succeeds where others fail because the foundations are based in the communities it serves. Pump Aid has a deep understanding of what empowers people.
Pump Aid is under constant pressure to deliver more pumps to communities with thousands of requests every year, when a letter of application is received a Pump Aid staff member is deployed to conduct a thorough investigation at the proposed site to asses both the geology and the impact that a pump could have on the local areas. When choosing a site community those with the biggest need are given priority – this could include an assessment related in HIV/Aids infection or the location of the local school.
Schools are essential because they often act as the centre for our work – if toilets and pumps are built at the school then the children often spread the news of the new facilities to other areas, ensuring more people hear about them.
Community input is central to the installation of any pump or toilet. Once a community is selected they are expected to participate in the construction. Communities often provide the stones, bricks or sand for building and most importantly, labour. By involving the community they feel ownership over the pump and/or the toilet and their benefits.
But most importantly, when Pump Aid leaves the site the local community knows how to maintain and repair the pump or toilet. This is largely why 90% of our Pumps are working at any one time, a much better statistic than any other leading water provider.
