JHB West - Oct 2020

The ‘Pink Ladies’ from Jam Water Services – Janette
Chambers, Ronette Chambers, Esther Rakoena, Annette
Carrick, Lerina Liebenberg and Gill McNamara.
JWS establishes approximately 180 boreholes annually in
communities that lack access to clean water across Africa.
Up to date, it will be more than 3 000 boreholes.
Don’t be mistaken for one moment – this is not a quick,
get-it-done-in-an-hour slapdash job. This specialised team
is thorough down to the tee. They offer a complete water
solution including geophysical surveys, borehole drilling,
borehole testing, water pump installations, manual and
solar pump installations, booster pump systems, water tank
installations and domestic water filtration systems. Quite
a mouthful, but super impressive. Before they decide on
drilling a borehole, they send out a team to do a survey of
the area. Once they indicate where the water is and
where to drill, JWS gears up the teams (and the drilling rigs)
and goes to the rural community.
‘We are not just another drilling company. We deliver a
quality drilling service using top-quality drilling methods.
Most of these rural areas do not have the luxury of
electricity and there we install a hand pump for the whole
community to use. One innovative idea we used for a
school was the buddy bay. Water filters are secured in a
cement ‘bay’ with a couple of secured taps for the school
kids and the community to use. We loved this buddy bay so
much that we installed one outside our office premises in
Nooitgedacht for our local community to use.’
While they’ve installed so many water solutions, you might
think that they have become used to the overwhelming
joy when a community finally gets water.
‘Each community touches your soul differently, with a
different story. It is the most rewarding feeling to ‘hear’
the sounds of joy when the first floods of water come
out of the earth. Something so simple for most of us is
so precious to many others. No more walking endless
kilometres for a bucket of muddy contaminated water, no
more struggling. It is a feeling you could never get used to
and it keeps you awake to the world and its realities.
‘Their grateful smiles and waves are the warmest greetings
of the day. There was one case last year where the whole
company went to assist in drilling a borehole for Kulungile
Kids in KZN, a children’s home run by South Africa’s Mother
Teresa. Founded by Sister Abegail Ntleko, she provides a
loving home for about 20 children of all ages. A few years
ago she was given the Unsung Hero Award by the Dalai
Lama. They had severe water problems, so bad that
she had immense difficulty running the home. We spent
quite some time with her and the children … what a
remarkable woman and a magical space she steers. To
be able to assist them with running water, and then
their utmost gratefulness will forever be a memorable
experience for all of us.
But this is not where JWS’ services end. Besides providing
sustainable water solutions, communities are also
given comprehensive water and sanitation education
and training.
‘WASH, which translates to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
collectively, are activities that cannot exist independently.
Without water, proper sanitation and hygiene are not
possible, and if proper hygiene is not in place, water
becomes contaminated. So, education is vital. Clean
water saves lives.
About JWS’ future plans, the Pink Ladies said it is their
dream to be recognised by local society for the work
they do.
‘We would love to get all South Africans involved in giving
life. We have been around for many, many years,
but we can only dream of getting bigger and doing more
with the help of local companies.’
It was Benjamin Franklin who famously said: ‘When the
well’s dry, we know the worth of water’. We truly have no
idea how blessed we are.
Details: www.jwservices.co.za or email lerina@jwservices.co.za.
October 2020 Get It Magazine 13