Running a Childrens Home from an older building and the ongoing maintenance issues associated with an aging building is a full time challenge.
Pieter Postema, Chairman of the Management Board knows more about these challenges better than anyone, having worked in the construction sector for 40 years on major building projects in Southern Africa.
As part of an endeavour to reduce our ongoing operational costs relative to Municipal services we have embarked on a water saving project and will soon be commencing with a solar electricity project.
The water saving project involved sinking a borehole and passing the water through a sophisticated filtration process so as to provide potable water. In so doing we will reduce our dependency on Municipal supply and reduce our monthly costs thereof. In the event of another drought resulting in severe water restrictions, we hope to remain self-sustainable and be capable of providing the Home with the necessary supply of potable water to suit our daily demands.
The total project cost including perimeter walling and security amounted to R384,415 and funds are fully secured. The project has not been without its problems as many ground water projects are so unpredictable. Once our drilled hole was completed we had the water tested which called for a high degree of filtration. Subsequent to commissioning the installation we found we were pumping a large amount of clay and after much debate we installed two settlement tanks which appear to be successful.
We need to run the system consistently for some time to ensure the final product is potable and suitable for our children and staff’s consumption.
The settlement tanks (2 large tanks) and the security wall and gate to the filtration equipment 
The filtration equipment