By LOUISE PAGE
To Given Faxa and his wife Asakhe, helping others less fortunate in their local community seems as natural as breathing; as a petrol attendant, he feels lucky to be employed and able to assist. He and his wife not only run a soup kitchen – frequently self-funded – but have recently been involved in the sourcing, handover and demonstration of a life-changing Hippo Water Roller, to the delight of Nkanini residents.
As Hippo Water Roller Project CEO Grant Gibbs – who has dedicated more than 20 years to the project – puts it: “Many people around South Africa have Day Zero every day”. This mobile water drum, featured in this video, also serves as a lidded water storage container and will spare residents hours every day carrying heavy water containers from the area’s three available taps, water which is needed not only for household use but watering vegetable gardens as well.
Philanthropically-minded and Swedish-born Victoria Morner-O’Connell and her son who attends a local private school, initiated fundraising efforts towards the purchase and distribution of Rollers in needy areas of Makhanda, starting in Nkanini.
Victoria has also been instrumental in creating local awareness of these Rollers and plans to continue collecting funds from international contacts in Sweden and elsewhere, while hoping that the Rollers become a community-driven project. The banner option for advertising space on the Roller in the video shows the Borelius family sponsorship for the Roller donated to eNkanini residents.
If you would like to buy a Roller for staff members or galvanise colleagues, classmates and friends into collecting funds, contact grant.gibbs@hipporoller.org or victoria.morner1@gmail.com
