New IWSH Collaboration Repairs Plumbing, Sanitation Facilities at Johannesburg Homeless Shelter
The International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Foundation supported a recently completed project to repair toilets, basins and showers at an inner-city homeless shelter in Johannesburg, South Africa.
During the week of Sept. 13-17, 20 plumbing apprentice candidates and a supervisor from BluLever Education joined with seven plumbers from the Water, Amenities and Sanitation Services Upgrade Program to install nine toilets, eight basins, eight showers and 12 sinks at a 100-person facility run by nongovernmental organization Metro Evangelical Services. The building, located in the New Doornfontein neighborhood, is being leased from the Department of Public Works. The volunteer teams upgraded six bathrooms and kitchen areas, and upgraded a drainage system for the communal kitchen.
IWSH connected with WASSUP Diepsloot and Sticky Situations, supporting remotely to launch this new initiative in partnership with Plumblink, BluLever Education and the Institute of Plumbing South Africa. Plumblink, a plumbing, bathroom and kitchenware supplier across South Africa, donated the supplies.
The project comes at a particularly important time for Johannesburg, which has been hit by repeated water supply reductions and interruptions, sometimes for more than a week at a time, due to water towers being closed because of aging infrastructure and high demand. The shortages have led to protests and threats of violence.
The new collaboration with MES and BluLever is the latest in a series of community plumbing and plumbing outreach projects that IWSH has helped deliver in partnership with WASSUP Diepsloot, Sticky Situations and IOPSA.
Visit www.stickysituations.org/wassup.diepsloot.html to learn more about Sticky Situations and WASSUP Diepsloot.
Visit www.iopsa.org to learn more about The Institute of Plumbing South Africa.
Visit www.iwsh.org/our-work to learn more about International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Foundation work in South Africa.
