When one thinks of hippos, what comes to mind is water - and plenty of it! But it is also a resource that many have to ho to the ends of the world to find.

To combat this, a project was created called the "Hippo Water Roller". This initiative was formed to bring much needed and easrier water to impoverished communities. There are more that 1 billion people around the world who don't have access to running water and are forced to travel long distances in order to access what is the most basic of human needs. Women and children are usually the ones who have the responsibility to walk to their nearest river or borehole to collect water, and then carry the buckets back to their homes - these bucket can have a mean weight of up to 20kg -  over harsh terrain.

This project aims to help people living in rural and informal settlements with Hippo Water Rollers, which are water containers that are capable of containing or moving 90 litres of water with less effort than the conventional 20 litre containers that are largely in use. 

The Hippo Water Roller was cdesigned in 1991 by South Africans Pittie Petzer and Johan Jonker. It was then implemented by Grant Gibbs from Imvubu Projects. The Roller container is a system made up from a large cylindrical container made from UV-stabilised polyethylene. The container is then attached to a rigid steel handle which effectively turns the drum into a large wheel that could either be pushed or pulled along the ground with relative ease when laid on its side.

This, in turn, reduces that strain and likehood of them sustaining neck and spinal injuries, given that the people collecting water  don't have to carry the container on their heads. Apart from The ease of movement, the Hippo Water Roller also has a large lid that create a water tight seal that allows for easy filling and hygienic storage, as well as access to the inside of the container for cleaning. 

There are still many people struggling to get the water they need on a daily basis and this technology has the potential to drastically reduce the amount of time and energy that these people use everyday. 

Imvubu Projects wishes to take this initiative further and appeal to the public and the organizations to help to help persue their goal of reaching as many people in need as possible. If anyone is interested in partnering with Imvubu Projects or learning more about who they are and what they do can log onto their website http://www.hipporoller.org or contact them via email through contacts hippo@roller.org