Water for Humanity project makes a world of a difference
Howard Mozel
Mar 17, 2006
David Angas had an "exhilaratingly exhausting" time recently in South Africa and no wonder: his
payoff for travelling thousands of miles by air and overland was helping to bring a permanent
supply of clean drinking water to the village of Tzaneen.
Angas stresses he in no way did this alone and as spokesperson for the four Rotary Clubs in
Oakville that participated in the ZENON Environmental Inc. Water For Humanity project, he
remains blown away by the astounding, widespread co-operation that pulled it off.
"It makes me feel incredible," he says of the untold benefits locals will reap, some of which may
not yet be foreseen. Water For Humanity is ZENON's volunteer-driven initiative founded by the
company's employees in 1999 as a way of showing their commitment to support the world's need
for clean, safe water in regions that cannot supply water for themselves.
Last year, Oakville's four Rotary Clubs joined forces with ZENON to celebrate the 100th
anniversary of Rotary International by planning to install the drinking water system. The project
had actually been in the works since a joint meeting in April 2003 between The Rotary Clubs of
Oakville, Oakville-Trafalgar, Oakville-North and Oakville-West. Rotary and ZENON then worked
closely to develop what has turned out to be a wonderful experience for everyone involved.
"It was three years in the making," said Angas, who added that what was originally a "crazy idea"
ultimately revealed the true "power of partnerships."
Angas was part of the three-member team that early last year inspected a short list of five
candidate sites in Ghana and South Africa. With him were two representatives from ZENON,
Services Vice President Jim Imrie and General Manager of Design Build and Mobile Systems R.
Philip Canning.
Factored into the decision to choose Tzaneen - a municipality in the province of Limpopo,
located in the northeastern part of South Africa - were things like access to a reliable water
source, the presence of chemical agents in the water, salinity and the likelihood of long-term
sustainability.
Integral to this is the commitment of those on the ground in Tzaneen to see the project through
in the long-term, namely local government, South African Rotarians (who built the necessary
pipelines to outlying villages) and the end-users of the water.
ZENON, together with support from its suppliers, covered all the costs associated with the
design, engineering, construction and installation of the water filtration system. Rotary, thanks to
its many committed members in place in Tzaneen, handled the necessary infrastructure such as
the water delivery system plus local education measures to help ensure sustainability.
After 18 months of planning and construction, the system was shipped in November and arrived
around Christmas. It went on-line in February. This plant -- by itself valued at around $300,000
-- will treat 140,000 gallons of water per day and add immeasurably to the lives of thousands.
The time spent hauling water several miles every single day can now be used by children to
attend school and by women for other pursuits, like starting micro-enterprises. "It will change
lives. The ripple effect of this is huge," said Angas, whose eyes were opened to the true
potential precipitated by the plant. "It's incredibly satisfying what it means to them just by
delivering water."
Angas was joined on the trip by three other local Rotarians - Ralf Soeder, Mary Cardamone and
Marie Heintzman, an audiologist who worked at a local school for the deaf and left valuable
equipment there. The four Rotarians also visited nine other schools in the area where they
spoke about topics like hygiene and water conservation - essential components to the
sustainability of the project. They also left behind playground equipment like soccer balls.
The Rotarians were joined by Imrie and three ZENON engineers selected by lottery to travel to
Africa and have a hand in the plant's completion. They were far from alone, explained Angas,
since the project received wholesale support from villagers to local politicians. The pipeline was
even donated by a supplier in China, while labour was cheerfully given by those who would
directly benefit from the plant. "They weren't looking for a handout," said Angas.
When the first clean water --drawn originally from the brown and murky Letaba River -- was
ready to flow, it was a time for a "huge celebration," said Angas, who was honoured to drink the
first mouthful from a simple plastic cup he now treasures. "It tasted better than the best
champagne I ever had in my life," he said.
Angas went on to say that Oakville should also feel proud, since the $50,000 committed to
Tzaneen by the town's four Rotary Clubs was eventually leveraged into the $750,000 total cost
of the project. This works out to a mere $1.87 per person - one heck of an investment in
people's lives, said Angas.
South Africa was such a positive experience, he continued, that the Rotary Clubs and ZENON
would love to work together again. Tzaneen set a high benchmark for future projects and so
much was learned in providing the water plant that it would be a waste of such knowledge not to
continue.
"This is why I'm a Rotarian," said Angas, pleased he was part of "exporting the privilege" of other
countries to those in need.
Howard Mozel
Mar 17, 2006
David Angas had an "exhilaratingly exhausting" time recently in South Africa and no wonder: his
payoff for travelling thousands of miles by air and overland was helping to bring a permanent
supply of clean drinking water to the village of Tzaneen.
Angas stresses he in no way did this alone and as spokesperson for the four Rotary Clubs in
Oakville that participated in the ZENON Environmental Inc. Water For Humanity project, he
remains blown away by the astounding, widespread co-operation that pulled it off.
"It makes me feel incredible," he says of the untold benefits locals will reap, some of which may
not yet be foreseen. Water For Humanity is ZENON's volunteer-driven initiative founded by the
company's employees in 1999 as a way of showing their commitment to support the world's need
for clean, safe water in regions that cannot supply water for themselves.
Last year, Oakville's four Rotary Clubs joined forces with ZENON to celebrate the 100th
anniversary of Rotary International by planning to install the drinking water system. The project
had actually been in the works since a joint meeting in April 2003 between The Rotary Clubs of
Oakville, Oakville-Trafalgar, Oakville-North and Oakville-West. Rotary and ZENON then worked
closely to develop what has turned out to be a wonderful experience for everyone involved.
"It was three years in the making," said Angas, who added that what was originally a "crazy idea"
ultimately revealed the true "power of partnerships."
Angas was part of the three-member team that early last year inspected a short list of five
candidate sites in Ghana and South Africa. With him were two representatives from ZENON,
Services Vice President Jim Imrie and General Manager of Design Build and Mobile Systems R.
Philip Canning.
Factored into the decision to choose Tzaneen - a municipality in the province of Limpopo,
located in the northeastern part of South Africa - were things like access to a reliable water
source, the presence of chemical agents in the water, salinity and the likelihood of long-term
sustainability.
Integral to this is the commitment of those on the ground in Tzaneen to see the project through
in the long-term, namely local government, South African Rotarians (who built the necessary
pipelines to outlying villages) and the end-users of the water.
ZENON, together with support from its suppliers, covered all the costs associated with the
design, engineering, construction and installation of the water filtration system. Rotary, thanks to
its many committed members in place in Tzaneen, handled the necessary infrastructure such as
the water delivery system plus local education measures to help ensure sustainability.
After 18 months of planning and construction, the system was shipped in November and arrived
around Christmas. It went on-line in February. This plant -- by itself valued at around $300,000
-- will treat 140,000 gallons of water per day and add immeasurably to the lives of thousands.
The time spent hauling water several miles every single day can now be used by children to
attend school and by women for other pursuits, like starting micro-enterprises. "It will change
lives. The ripple effect of this is huge," said Angas, whose eyes were opened to the true
potential precipitated by the plant. "It's incredibly satisfying what it means to them just by
delivering water."
Angas was joined on the trip by three other local Rotarians - Ralf Soeder, Mary Cardamone and
Marie Heintzman, an audiologist who worked at a local school for the deaf and left valuable
equipment there. The four Rotarians also visited nine other schools in the area where they
spoke about topics like hygiene and water conservation - essential components to the
sustainability of the project. They also left behind playground equipment like soccer balls.
The Rotarians were joined by Imrie and three ZENON engineers selected by lottery to travel to
Africa and have a hand in the plant's completion. They were far from alone, explained Angas,
since the project received wholesale support from villagers to local politicians. The pipeline was
even donated by a supplier in China, while labour was cheerfully given by those who would
directly benefit from the plant. "They weren't looking for a handout," said Angas.
When the first clean water --drawn originally from the brown and murky Letaba River -- was
ready to flow, it was a time for a "huge celebration," said Angas, who was honoured to drink the
first mouthful from a simple plastic cup he now treasures. "It tasted better than the best
champagne I ever had in my life," he said.
Angas went on to say that Oakville should also feel proud, since the $50,000 committed to
Tzaneen by the town's four Rotary Clubs was eventually leveraged into the $750,000 total cost
of the project. This works out to a mere $1.87 per person - one heck of an investment in
people's lives, said Angas.
South Africa was such a positive experience, he continued, that the Rotary Clubs and ZENON
would love to work together again. Tzaneen set a high benchmark for future projects and so
much was learned in providing the water plant that it would be a waste of such knowledge not to
continue.
"This is why I'm a Rotarian," said Angas, pleased he was part of "exporting the privilege" of other
countries to those in need.
