Hippo Water Rollers!
The Hippo Water Roller is a revolutionary alternative to the daily
grind of hauling water and is made available through Operation Hunger.
The Hippo can carry up to 90 litres of water at a time and comes
with clip on steel handles - enabling mothers, grandmothers and
even young girls to roll it along the ground with ease.
Purification tablets can be added to the water if needed and dissolve
as the Hippo rolls along the ground. The polyethylene body of the
Hippo Water Roller is tough enough to withstand uneven footpaths,
rocks and broken bottles; should the Hippo happen to connect with
a landmine, the water inside will absorb most of the blast!
In the majority world - where clean water is not available “on
tap” as it is here - such a facility has the potential to
revolutionise women’s lives.
 Normally
a young mother in southern Africa may need to spend 2 or 3 hours
every day of her life collecting water - carrying about 20 litres
per trip in a pot or bucket on her head. The Hippo Water Roller
allows her to carry much more water in just one trip, and to do
so far more safely and easily.
This means women in these poor communities can have more time for
other ventures, such as growing vegetables or making handicrafts
to earn extra money for their families.
How about checking out the Hippo Water Roller at www.hipporoller.org!
Perhaps a group of Aussie mates could work together to raise $70,
enabling a “Hippo” to be purchased for a poor family
in Southern Africa!
***
A little “aside” – a bit of trivia that relates
well and could p’raps be put on the same page as a filler…
Did you know, the average family in a developing country uses 10
litres of water every day for their drinking, washing and cooking?…This
is the same as the flush of a western toilet.
More rice, less water!
In poor communities in Cambodia and Sri Lanka hunger and poor health
are a daily reality for thousands of families. Traditional methods
of rice-growing hardly produce enough food for the family to eat,
let alone enough to sell.
Now, though, with the help of Oxfam Australia, farmers are able
to double their rice production using a new method – the System
of Rice Intensification (SRI).
SRI requires less water than traditional growing methods and uses
compost instead of chemicals. Through careful management of the
planting and growing processes, SRI also uses less seed and encourages
greater root growth, which in turn produces much higher yields.
“The rice grows very quickly, in a big bunch”, says
Chimm Yonn of Cambodia. “One rice stem splits into two shoots,
then four, then eight, each with hundreds of husks. It is like a
miracle! I feel very excited when the rice is very big, very green
and very healthy. It means my family will have more rice to eat
and a better life.”
To read more about SRI check out www.oxfam.org.au! |
