Projet Madagasikara Tsisy Firaka
Eliminating lead exposure in water from Malagasy-made hand pumps.
At its core, this is a training and education project. We work closely with our local partner, St. Gabriel, to build on solutions developed in partnership with local technicians and communities and ensure that our approach is practical for people to implement and sustain into the future.
Together we have set out to tackle the lead problem in 3 ways:
Raising awareness about the health risks associated with lead in drinking water is essential to the project's success because Malagasy people are largely unaware of the health risks, particularly for vulnerable populations like children. We will do this with your support through radio, television, and door-to-door peer education.
Technician training is central to the project because technicians largely determine which materials are used in the handpumps they build and repair.
We have kicked off a technician apprenticeship program: Unleaded pump technicians teach and train local technicians AND replace leaded water pumps with safe, unleaded alternatives during routine repair and maintenance jobs already coming into their workshops.
Initially, the trained local technicians will replace leaded pump parts as they age, and then we will carry out a larger leaded parts replacement campaign for the whole city of Toamasina. By partnering with local technicians, we ensure long-term sustainability and health benefits for the community because they are the people who will be responsible for making and maintaining people's handpumps in the future.
Stories, research, and updates from the field
For thousands of families across Toamasina, the pompe tany — the humble pitcher pump — is the difference between clean water and no water at all. Tucked into courtyards and along neighbourhood pathways, these hand pumps supply drinking, cooking, and washing water to roughly three-quarters of the coastal population...
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