Mafumo purifies coal-contaminated water for residents of Mpumalanga

Social entrepreneur Murendeni Mafumo’s idea to purify water is turning into a reality. What led Mafumo to even want to drink purified was the quality of water he and other people are drinking in some parts of Mpumalanga, especially in eMalahleni (formerly known as Witbank).

In recent years, the spotlight has be shown on the quality of water which has been reported as being polluted. Over half a million people rely on the water that is provided by the local municipality. Even though the local municipality does purify the water in supplies to communities, there have reports that some coal mines are to be blamed for the contamination. Mafumo’s Kusini Water project uses a unique treatment system which involves a technology called nanotechnology and he uses macadamia nut shells to purify water. The project was recently launched together with a company called DuPoint.

Since the launch, over 10 000 litres of water were produced per hour by this technology. But Mafumo had faced many challenges before the launch including lack of support in terms of human development. “He found the lack of support in terms of human development the most difficult. This refers to the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development of a person throughout their
lifespan, which plays a crucial role in how an entrepreneur perceives themselves,” revealed The Good News Guy. It was through FURTHER, a platform to develop high performing impact entrepreneurs, Mafumo was able to get the necessary help.

FURTHER designs and implements bespoke programmes that focus on human performance and personal capacity building on behalf of partners such as the SAB Foundation, Allan Gray Orbis Foundation and British Council. It was founded by Ian Calvert and Lindsay Cilliers. Calvert said one of the reasons they established FURTHER was because a number of entrepreneurs lack are networks where they can tap into for support, which is something most privileged entrepreneurs take for granted. “We’ve worked with over 100 impact entrepreneurs to help them bridge the gap between the start-up stage and being fully scalable and sustainable. We offer this not only for their businesses, but primarily for them as individuals,” he said. Calvert added that many of these entrepreneurs are faced with issues like imposter syndrome or have self-limiting beliefs, which they help them to overcome. They do so by building their capacity as human beings first, this allows them to perform at their full potential and go onto solving the problems closest to their hearts and to home.

FURTHER uses cutting-edge, high-performance approaches and tools to develop community change makers, this helps them to assess their capacities and skill sets and grow themselves through peer-to-peer learning.

Editor’s note: Someone had to find a way to make sure that water is safe to drink and Murendeni Mafumo had to be that person. He is treating water which is highly contaminated with coal in Mpumalanga.

Description: Mafumo’s Kusini Water project uses a unique treatment system which involves a technology called nanotechnology and he uses macadamia nut shells to purify water.

Editor: Anirlé de Meyer

Project manager: Anirlé de Meyer