Here is a short excerpt from an article in the Columbus area on the new water pump developed for use in Africa. To read the entire article, click here.
It was early December, and families gathered around a bright, shiny symbol of hope at the old Grace Brethren Church in Worthington.
No Christmas trees or twinkling stars were in sight, though. The object that is expected to bring hope of life and health to millions was a new prototype of a water pump for the people of the Central African Republic and other developing nations.
The pump was designed and built by a team of engineers and other professionals who pooled their efforts to solve some of the developing world’s technical problems.
At simultaneous unveilings in Columbus and in Warsaw, Indiana — homes of the co-founders of a firm called Design Outreach — families and friends saw a glimpse of the pump designed to be more durable and to reach greater depths than pumps currently in use in outlying countries.
Columbus-area engineer Greg Bixler, chief executive of the nonprofit company, said 125,000 water pumps in developing nations are broken, leaving millions with no access to a clean, sustainable water source.