Company Announcement - ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions recently installed flush ablution facilities at Mosima 2 Primary School in Lephalale as part of the company’s continued investment in sustainable initiatives to help uplift local communities. The much needed growth in the Lephalale region that has ensued from the development of the nearby Medupi power station, is presenting a number of unique challenges for the local community.  Eskom has embarked upon an upliftment drive in the region and main contractors to Medupi are encouraged to identify and participate in various community projects to assist this small rural community in South Africa’s Limpopo Province.

“As a responsible corporate, we are committed to supporting sustainable community drives and we have thrown our full weight behind our key customer, Eskom’s initiatives,” states Dietmar Jürges, CEO of ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions in South Africa. “Working in close cooperation with the electricity utility and the Lephalale Development Forum , we have completed a host of projects in the region over the past five years, including the construction of 60 vegetable tunnels and the donation of libraries to three rural schools in the latter half of 2014.”

Charles Herbert, Electrical, Control & Instrumentation Head of Department at ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions South Africa says that it was during their visit to the Mosima 2 Primary School in October 2014 to assist with the installation of the ‘Nelson Mandela Long Walk to Freedom’ library that they noticed the poor state of the school’s ablution facilities which were in desperate need of an upgrade. “The school’s ablutions basically consisted of an ‘open pit’ used by the girls and teachers while the boys were using the open field next to the school; this was unacceptable in our eyes and two months later, in December 2014, we commenced with the ablutions upgrade project.”

Herbert explains that the first step was to install a drainage system which was crucial to ensuring a flushable toilet system. The new containerised ablution facilities consist of two 6m long modified, insulated ISO containers mounted on concrete plinths. Each PVC-tiled structure contains six flush-toilet cubicles, two hand-wash basins and two vapour-proof lighting fittings.

ThyssenKrupp also built a strong-room as well as a separate office for School Principal M.A. Lerumo who was previously sharing an open classroom with the teachers. All projects were successfully completed in March 2015. Principal Lerumo, the educators and learners are particularly proud of their new ablutions. “The flushable toilets are so much more hygienic and convenient and have had a positive impact not only on our educators and learners, but also on the community,” reports Lerumo. “The school can now be a proud community member, providing our learners with a healthier environment in which they can better focus on their studies.”

“This project is in perfect harmony with ThyssenKrupp’s tenets of creating sustainable infrastructures and promoting the efficient use of resources and we are very proud to have had this wonderful opportunity to make a significant difference in the lives of this small remote community,”