Maraposa primary school serves a community of five villages and was gifted a solar installation, four laptops and a printer from Mpilo Foundation in 2021.

On May 15, 2023 we revisited Maraposa village and the primary school. The teachers said that the water pump was causing problems. The well is 85 meters deep and the water level is 52 meters. Pumping water with the Zimbabwe Bush Pump, a hand pump, is very difficult. Several children or adults are needed to pump the water. The villagers in the vicinity of the school also depend on this well. The request is whether a solar-powered water pump can be donated by Mpilo Foundation.

To determine whether a solar pump is a useful alternative, we had a “capacity test” carried out by Aquamat Drilling in June 2023. The main purpose of the test is to determine whether the borehole can safely handle a flow rate of 1 liter/second or 3600 liters/hour. The result was favorable, a 1Hp solar pump can be installed on the water well of the primary school.

On November 16, 2023, it was finally time for Maraposa primary school.
Albert and Ellen were present at the installation of the solar pump and the JoJo tank (5000 liters) on a 3 meter high ‘stand’. The water reservoir at a height of 3 meters made it easy to install a tap system. A tap for irrigation of the school’s food garden, a tap for the school kitchen and a tap for the villagers.

(Part of a project financed by the AFAS Foundation)