Playing for water

Sometimes you stumble on brilliant ideas, brilliant in their simplicity, heartwarming in their effect. Twice this week, see Voices of Africa for the other one. This one is about PlayPumps (via Springwise):

A PlayPump is a children's merry-go-round/roundabout attached to a water pump and water storage tank, that provides clean drinking water to children and families in rural Africa. Children spin on a merry-go-round, water pumps from below the ground, up into a storage tank just a few feet away, creating a safe, plentiful supply of water. Each installation pumps up to 1,400 liters per hour with less effort than any other manually operated pump.

Beyond the immediate health benefits provided by access to clean water, PlayPumps also significantly improve the situation of girls and women, who would otherwise spend hours each day fetching water instead of going to school.

PlayPumps aren't new (the non-profit venture was founded in 1994), but at this moment they are campaigning with Flashbags: Flashbags' partnership with PlayPumps is part of a campaign to place 100 new pumps in 100 days. For the duration of the campaign, Flashbags will donate 20% of the sale of PlayPumps handbags (priced at USD 79) to the organization. Besides donating money, the partnership’s aim is to help spread the word about PlayPumps, using bags to spark conversations.