Voice 1 Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Ryan Geertsma. Voice 2 And I'm Robin Basselin. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1 That is the sound of excited laughing children. The children are playing. They are riding on a piece of play equipment. It is called a “merry-go-round” or “round-about.” On the merry-go-round, the children move quickly in a circular motion. The merry-go-round does not have power from steam or fuel. Instead, it receives power from the children who play on it. It turns around a metal bar, like a wheel lying on its side. A child runs and pushes the merry-go-round. Then the child jumps on the merry-go-round and enjoys an exciting ride.
Voice 2 Many people see the merry-go-round as just a large piece of play equipment. It is just for fun and exercise. But several engineers saw the simple machine as a solution for complex problems. Today's Spotlight is on how these engineers are using merry-go-rounds to supply people with clean water and electricity. Voice 1 Over one thousand million people in the world do not have clean water. Dirty water is the single largest cause of disease in the world. Almost six thousand people die every day from diseases caused by dirty water. And finding clean water can be difficult. In some areas, women and children spend many hours of their day searching for water.
Voice 2 Many people who live in country areas also do not have electricity. They light their homes and schools using dangerous or unhealthy forms of light - like fire, lanterns or candles. Without good light at night, children have limited hours to study. Families also have limited hours to work in their businesses or houses before night.
Voice 1 These sad facts about water and light shocked a South African businessman named Trevor Field and an American engineer named Ben Markham. Although they did not know each other, both men developed similar ideas to help people in need. Both men used the merry-go-round as the base of their new inventions.
Voice 2 After traveling in poor areas of southern Africa, Trevor Field saw the basic need for good water. He wanted to help people gain clean water. But he needed a new way to do it, a new idea.
Voice 1 And then, Field met Ronnie Stuiver. Stuiver is an engineer. He searched for and found clean water sources near poor villages. Field learned that near by water sources did not always solve the problem. Many villages do not have the resources to pump the water to the ground's surface. Most pumps require costly electricity or fuel. However, Stuiver had a solution.
Voice 2 Stuiver noticed another problem in many of the communities he worked with. The children did not have play equipment or other means for fun and exercise. This gave Stuiver an idea. He could make a new kind of water pump. THIS water pump would use play equipment and children's play to power it. Voice 1 Stuiver recognized that a merry-go-round would be a good base for his invention. As a merry-go-round turns, it creates energy. This energy could be used to power a water pump. The pump would move water from below the ground to the surface. The water could then be stored in a tank for later use.
Voice 2 Stuiver made a model of his system. He took it to a science and farming gathering. This gathering is where Trevor Field and Ronnie Stuiver met. Field knew immediately that was the idea he had been looking for.
Voice 1 Field used Stuiver's idea and began building these merry-go-round, water pump systems. He called them “play–pump” systems. His organization, Play Pumps International, provides the systems to communities and schools in Sub-Saharan Africa. Field built the pumps for communities without clean water. He works with the community members. He teaches local people how to connect the water pump to the play equipment. He also teaches them how to repair and take care of the equipment.
Voice 2 The play-pump systems became very popular. People loved having clean water, and the children enjoyed playing on the equipment. Even when the children were in school classes, their mothers would come and sit on the merry-go-round. They would turn the machine slowly as they talked with each other. This too provided enough power to pump the water.
Voice 1 The play-pump systems provided clean water without fuel or electricity. This means that people no longer have to spend hours finding and collecting water. The play-pump systems have also had a positive effect on farming. With greater resources of water, farmers can produce better crops and healthier animals. Farmers can expand their businesses. Families can spend more money for food, medicine and better education.
Voice 2 The play-pumps idea has gained support from many international organizations. Today, thousands of play-pump systems are in southern Africa. Field estimates these systems provide ten million people in ten African countries with clean water. Field explains his hope for the future, Voice 3 “If we could put a thousand pumps in each country that lacks water, we would make a great difference. It is a big job to put one thousand pumps in any country, but it will make a major difference to the children.” Voice 1 Using play equipment this way is not limited to getting water. Retired engineer Ben Markham uses the merry-go-round to produce electricity. He worked as a missionary in Ghana, Africa. Markham noticed that many children living in country villages needed electricity for their schools and homes.
Voice 2 Like Stuiver and Field, Markham developed a system using the merry-go-round. When children push the merry-go-round, it produces energy. The energy produced by the merry-go-round is stored in a car battery. The battery can then be used to charge LED lights. Teachers use these lights in the local schools. Students can also take the lights home. This safe light can replace oil lights or lights that have a dangerous open fire. The LED lights can help children to read or do their home work after dark. They can also help the parents to work after dark if necessary.
Voice 1 Ben Markham began an organization called Empower Playgrounds, Inc. Empower Playgrounds works together with the Ghanaian government. They provide merry-go-round power systems to several test schools. Empower Playground and the Ghanaian government hope some day to provide power to ten thousand schools. Today, these schools have no electric light. Markham explains, Voice 4 “Our goal is to improve the quality of life in the country areas of Ghana. This project will improve education. It will do this by providing power for lights. It will give children times for fun. And it will also give them a hands-on science laboratory.” Voice 2 Basic problems do not always have simple solutions. But in these situations, basic needs for light and water were provided by something simple: child's play. Voice 1 The writer of today's program was Jeff Carpenter. The producer was Mark Drenth. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. Computer users can hear more Spotlight programs on our website at http://www.radio.english.net. This program is called “Play Power”. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!
