DO’s Hand Pump Upgrade Kit Helps Mechanics Like Peter Keep Pumps Up and Running
Peter, a 60-year-old pump mechanic from a village in the capital city of Lilongwe, oversees more than 50 standard hand pumps known as Afridevs in contract with the Malawian government. His job requires him to travel to each community pump for inspections and repairs every three months. His only transportation is his bicycle, and the only tools and supplies he can carry are those that fit in the pack on his back.
In December, several members of the Design Outreach Engineering Solutions team traveled to Malawi and had the privilege of spending a week getting to know Peter as they conducted field testing of the Poldaw Floating Pumprod Centralizer, a critical component of MaxLife™, the Afridev hand pump upgrade kit DO has been working to develop.
The Afridev—recognized by its long, galvanized steel handle that the user pushes down to extract water—is one of the most commonly used hand pump technologies, serving as a critical source of water for hundreds of millions of people worldwide. However, more than a third of these pumps are non-functional at any given time, and those that are working are prone to rapid corrosion, lead contamination, and mechanical damage on expensive pump parts. For mechanics like Peter, keeping up with the disrepair that many of these pumps face is a daunting and often impossible task.
To address this dire and urgent situation, DO is working to develop an upgrade kit consisting of higher-quality, longer-lasting parts that will extend the life of these traditional pumps at a cost that under-resourced communities can afford. Because of the widespread use of these pumps worldwide, DO’s MaxLife upgrade kits have the potential to impact hundreds of millions of people with a cost-effective way to make their existing hand pumps more sustainable and more affordable to maintain.
The first and most important part of the MaxLife Afridev upgrade kit is the Poldaw Floating Pumprod Centralizer. The centralizer is a critical Afridev component, and wear and tear of the currently used design is responsible for the bulk of Afridev failures. Developed by Poldaw Designs and Design Outreach, the Poldaw Floating Pumprod Centralizer is a low-cost upgrade to this critical part that has the potential to reduce the frequency of Afridev breakdowns by an estimated 70-80%.
While traveling with Peter and several government officials to 10 different communities to install and test the new centralizers, the team saw firsthand the poor condition of the pumps and the widespread impact of a broken system.
“One of the pumps getting upgraded had just been visited by Peter the previous week,” said Cai Green, a project engineer who traveled to Malawi in December. “The pump looked like they were reusing broken parts, the plastic bearings were already cracked, and the whole pump was wobbly. The technicians do the best they can with the resources they have, but the repairs they can do are just putting a Bandaid on a bigger wound.”
Because these communities have limited resources and struggle to pay even the $2 USD due to Peter for each three-month visit, paying for the many repairs their pumps require is difficult. Without sufficient repairs done in a timely manner, the pumps are prone to even further degradation. On top of that, Peter can only afford a bicycle and can’t transport more than a few basic tools and parts, so any larger repairs remain unaddressed.
“Peter seemed exhausted and discouraged,” Cai said. “It was a daily grind for him to get on his bike with back issues. He has 5 kids, and his wages come out to something like $500 USD per year.”
With the Poldaw Floating Pumprod Centralizer upgrade, these Afridev pumps will require fewer repairs, allowing the communities to save money, guaranteeing that Peter and other mechanics like him will get paid proper wages, and extending the time between community visits so Peter has more time to oversee additional pumps.
“DO’s solutions are the cost-effective way to extend the life of these pumps without purchasing new and expensive parts all the time,” said Steve Peacock, DO’s senior technical liaison. “A site visit or village check becomes a whole lot better for technicians like Peter. The upgrades will empower him to do his job more effectively, and he can leave a village with a good conscience.”
The upgrades will not only impact the millions of people who depend on these pumps, but also the lives of those who are responsible for helping to maintain them—people just like Peter.
“Our time in Malawi was a good reminder that we’re not working in a country with unlimited resources. There are real limitations,” Cai said. “I’m accountable because I know what the situations are like now. It drives me to do what I do with excellence as I think of things from the perspective of people like Peter and to address their challenges in our design work.”
For the DO Engineering Solutions team, collaborating with experts around the globe to improve the design of a technology that has existed for nearly 50 years is a powerful opportunity to tangibly demonstrate the love of Christ.
“We can’t solve all the world’s problems, but there’s an affordable way to make a long-lasting tangible difference,” Steve said. “An upgraded Afridev that can last a longer time with affordable parts becomes a trusted bridge to carry the Gospel across in time. As William Booth, who founded the Salvation Army, said, ‘On providing for the relief of temporal misery, I reckon that I am only making it easy where it is now difficult, and possible where it is now all but impossible, for men and women to find their way to the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.’”
