Directions: Read “The Hippo Roller.” Then, answer the questions that follow.

The Hippo Roller

(1) Water is necessary to drink, clean, cook food, grow crops, and stay healthy, yet many people struggle to live without this essential resource. According to the World Health Organization, 4 out of every 10 people live without access to safe water. Pettie Petzer and Johan Jonker, two South Africans who grew up on farms, invented the Hippo Water Roller to address this critical problem.

(2) Johan Jonker noticed workers on his father’s farm using 5-gallon plastic buckets to gather and carry water. He knew the containers were of poor quality and not very durable, but that wasn’t the only problem. And it wasn’t just a problem for his father’s farm. In fact, there are millions of women and children who use those same 5-gallon buckets to collect water, walking up to 6 hours every day and balancing the heavy containers on their heads. This not only takes up precious time that could be used for more important activities, but it causes neck and spine damage besides being exhausting. Jonker and Petzer knew that there had to be a better way.

(3) The two inventors’ first try at solving this problem was based on a wheelbarrow, with one wheel supporting a large area used to carry the water. This initial idea failed because the price of the wheel was much too expensive. Petzer thought, “Let’s put the water inside the wheel!” And the Hippo Water Roller was born. The Hippo Roller is a large barrel attached to a handle that allows users to collect more water and easily roll it back to their homes.

(4) Petzer and Jonker’s solution has had tremendous impact. Users can now collect 25 gallons of water in one trip, and they can do it with less physical strain. “I used to fetch water six or seven times a day,” reports one user. “Now with the Hippo, I do it once every two or three days.” With the Hippo Roller, women and children are collecting more than just water; they are also collecting time. Children are now attending school, and women are being trained in skills to start a business and earn income in the time that they used to spend getting water. Also, with more time to cultivate and irrigate their fields, farmers can now grow more crops. The Hippo Water Roller provides life-giving water and empowers users, mainly women and children, to put more of their time towards improving their communities and their own lives.

Written by EL Education for instructional purposes. 1100L

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