The Gift of Water
As 2022 drew to a close, we were fortunate enough to end the year on a giving note. The MalaMala team headed into the surrounding communities to gift our senior citizens, as well as child- headed and disabled-headed households, with water transportation devices known as ‘Hippo Water Rollers’ .
The people living in communities near MalaMala Game Reserve are among many South Africans who are afflicted by the global water scarcity crisis and a lack of infrastructure providing access to safe drinking water. In these areas, the predominant source of water is often a communal water outlet that is situated away from the residents’ homes.
As a consequence, village residents have the daily arduous task of walking long distances, carrying heavy containers to retrieve water for consumption and household use. This vital chore is physically taxing, especially for the elderly and disabled and can result in chronic, painful neck and back injuries.
The Hippo Water Roller is a simple, yet innovative device, designed to alleviate the burden of carrying heavy water vessels.
It is a light-weight, robust, 90 litre (24 gallons) drum which is attached to a handlebar, allowing it to be pushed or pulled along the ground with relative ease, without requiring any awkward, heavy lifting from the user.
Simple to assemble and operate, the Hippo Water Roller is a practical solution to an on-going and complex challenge.
Access to a clean and consistent water supply is not only necessary for drinking, cooking and basic daily hygiene, it is also essential for sustaining household vegetable gardens which provide a critical source of nutrition for these communities. The Hippo Water Roller will allow residents to collect sufficient volumes of water to be able to cultivate a food source in gardens conveniently situated near to their homes.
Through engagement and the involvement of community leaders, we identified the senior citizens, child-headed and disabled-headed households most in need of immediate assistance with access to clean water.
Our MalaMala community outreach team were present on the ground, to meet the recipients of the Hippo Water Rollers and to affirm MalaMala’s ongoing commitment to the support and betterment of our valued local communities who are an important part of the extended MalaMala family .
This is a project close to our MalaMala hearts. For further information about the MalaMala water roller project and to find out how you can get involved, please contact the MalaMala marketing department – marketing@malamala.com