Situated in the rural and underprivileged Maphephetha Tribal Authority north of Durban, Bongumusa Primary School has been a central part of the community for over 50 years. The well-loved school has a current enrolment of 450 pupils, all of whom need water to drink, as well as use for basic sanitation and hygiene purposes. In addition to this, as the school administration also runs a much needed feeding programme, water for cooking is a priority. But, as with so many other places across our country, water supply is a huge problem. At Sunlight, we knew we could make a contribution to Bongumusa Primary that would truly better the lives of the underprivileged children and struggling staff.
Our favourite Sunlight representative, famed actress Leleti Khumalo, visited the school and brought with her 2 JoJo Tanks (each capable of holding 5000 litres of water) and a skilled team that could connect the tanks to the school’s gutter system so that every drop of precious rainwater can now be harvested. It’s hard to imagine, but a day’s heavy rainfall could actually fill a tank. The tanks also contain a filter system that guarantees that all the harvested water is clean and suitable for drinking.
By introducing these JoJo Tanks, the school children now have access to a much improved water supply that is sustainable and long-lasting. The school’s ecstatic principal, Maurreen Mbatha, told Leleti: “The whole community has got a problem with water. The children used to carry water from home in small containers. Now life will be easier for us”. Being so closely involved with the water problems faced by our customers and other ordinary South Africans, Sunlight is deeply aware that even small, but sustainable, interventions can transform the quality of life for so many, and we are very proud to part of the solution.
As the school is not only an educational centre, and also serves as a community meeting place and community prayer venue, the benefits of the 2 rainwater harvesting JoJo Tanks should be felt throughout the whole area.
The water supply intervention at Bongumusa Primary is but one effort Sunlight has engaged in over the past few months. The #SunlightSavesWater project has donated 80 JoJo Tanks to deserving communities across our beautiful country, and we look forward to doing even more in the future. Our new Sunlight 2in1 SmartFoam has further contributed to our determination to address the water hardships of our customers. As much less water is needed to rinse laundry washed with 2in1 SmartFoam (meaning that much less water is used), we believe we have saved South Africans almost 30 million litres to date. Over time, this figure will climb and climb, making Sunlight a company that has truly made an impact.
Visit our website to find out more about our fantastic competition, and follow the conversation on #SunlightSavesWater.
