PR News: DO installs hand pump in Malawi

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Design Outreach Installs

LIFEPUMP in Malawi Villages

Hand pump brings up water for drinking, sanitation

Chilekwa Malawi with LIFEPUMPColumbus, OH (Dec. 11, 2013) – A team from Design Outreach, led by volunteers Rich Arthur and Thom Haubert, has successfully installed the LIFEPUMP™ in a Malawi village to provide fresh water to nearly 700 inhabitants. The LIFEPUMP™ is the flagship product for Design Outreach, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating life-sustaining solutions for developing countries.

In the village of Zolomondo, women wake early – or even camp out overnight – to fetch water in dried up wells that are more than a mile (two kilometers) away, returning at midday to attend to other chores. It is a painstaking and sometimes dangerous task that drains them of energy, resources and opportunities. With the installation of the LIFEPUMP™, villagers are now guaranteed a constant, convenient supply of fresh water for drinking, sanitation and washing.

“Hundreds of people now have clean water for the first time — thanks to our dedicated volunteers and partners — and we’re excited more than ever to do this for thousands of more villages,” said Greg Bixler, who co-founded of Design Outreach along with Abe Wright.


The LIFEPUMP™ is a powerful water pump, powered only by two hands but able to draw water from hundreds of feet underground. Design Outreach has a goal of installing this sustainable solution to thousands more villages in sub-Saharan Africa and throughout the world.

“When we first came to Africa, we found pumps that were broken and needing repair. But most of these pumps are outdated and parts are no longer in production,” said Bixler. “The problem was more than making a few spare parts: we needed to design an easy-to-use, powerful pump capable of reaching water deep underground.”

Design Outreach has continuously improved the design of the LIFEPUMP™ and is extending its network of partners to save more lives with freshwater production.

For more information about Design Outreach and their LIFEPUMP™ system, visit their website, www.doutreach.org, or watch this video on YouTube. Interested donors and partners may also connect with Design Outreach through their Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.

About Design Outreach

Design Outreach (DO) is a non-profit humanitarian engineering organization which creates life-sustaining solutions for developing countries. DO works with volunteers, donors, and suppliers in creating products that create impact on the fight against poverty, particularly on the forefront of freshwater production.

Design Outreach envisions developing countries empowered to face the challenges of poverty through properly engineering everyday products. To achieve this vision, DO collaborates with established field partners who know and live with the people who will eventually use the product.  This invaluable anthropological, customer-based approach to product design is the key to the sustainability and scalability of their systems.

Contact: Abe Wright

Phone: (574) 527-3448

Email: abe@doutreach.org

www.doutreach.org

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