Dear Project H supporters and friends:
Hello from South Africa... I have just returned from delivering the Hippo Rollers to Kgautswane! So much to report- and I could go on for days about the amazing week I have spent here- but I'll just give you the highlights and let the photos tell the story better than I possibly could.
I arrived in Johannesburg on Monday and was greeted by Grant Gibbs, the man behind Hippo Roller, and welcomed into his family's home just outside the city. After visiting the manufacturer and learning about the rotational molding and material processes behind the rollers' production, we loaded up the trailer and headed out to Kgautswane, a rural community of upwards of 130,000, 5 hours drive from Johannesburg in the overwhelmingly picturesque Mpumalanga area of northeastern South Africa.
On Wednesday afternoon, we handed over the rollers to households selected by Clara Masinga, Kgautswane's community leader- an amazing woman who really has been a voice and an inspiration to the whole community. On a side note, I gave Clara one of Project H's "designcanchangetheworld" t-shirts, which she wore from sunrise to sunset on Thursday.
I spent the following 2 days with Grant and Clara, interviewing community members about the Hippo Roller (thousands of which are currently in use throughout Kgautswane), particularly regarding the way it enables families and quite simply, makes life easier. As we drove down the dusty roads around dusk, children rolled their Hippo...
