The Jan! Foundation financially supports the Mpilo Foundation. The Hardenberg foundation ‘Mpilo Foundation’ was founded on 30 July 2018. Mpilo means ‘life’. Water is life. Life depends to a large extent on the accessibility of basic needs. The foundation mainly focuses on Zimbabwe. Almost a third of households have to walk for half an hour to collect water.
Albert and Ellen Nijland returned in December 2018 from four weeks of Zimbabwe, the country where they lived from 1984-1987 and Albert has worked as a tropical doctor.
“We have been in villages where the children had not seen a white man before … villages where there is no water and no electricity.
Where women (!) Have to walk 4-5 kilometers to get water and then walk back with 20 liters of water in a bucket on the head. Prior to our trip, we had soil surveys (‘water surveys’) planned by a hydrogeologist in 7 villages. We were there during the surveys and all seven turned out to be ‘positive’, which means that there is water in the ground. Some at 40-50 meters depth and two at 70-90 meters depth. I will not elaborate on the challenges to realize a water well of 90 meters depth after the rainy season (April / May 2019), but getting the truck-with-drill in the right place, drilling and protecting the borehole with steel pipes (à $ 65 per meter) and the installation of a Zimbabwe Bush Pump are just some of the logistical and financial challenges that we want to take on. Jan! Foundation wholeheartedly supports the ‘water’ project of Mpilo Foundation. “A project that matters, with which we can make the world a bit more beautiful”, says Jan Heuver. When we manage to realize seven wells-with-Zimbabwe-Bush-Pump, almost 7,000 people have access to sufficient and safe water, “says Albert Nijland, former general practitioner in Hardenberg. More information at
https://www.jan-foundation.nl/ and https://mpilofoundation.com.