"The Friends of Hwange Newsletters"

Issue No 4. May 2006

Dear Friends of Hwange,

In May we have made some great progress in the Park and Mario has got a total of five waterholes up and running. We have already started pumping the five waterholes, as these were rapidly loosing water since the rain has stopped. Another pan (Mabuya Mabema) will be running soon, once 
the rods have been fixed. Mario also managed to get the windmill at Kennedy 1 running, which can pump up to 5000 litres of water a day (on a good windy day), reducing the use of diesel needed to pump water. These 5000 litres, however, are not enough once we hit the middle of the dry season, but it helps keeping water levels up once the rains stop and is a more economically friendly way to pump water than using the diesel engines. For the future we will look at the feasibility of introducing more modern windmills, to find an economically friendly way to pump water. 

Mario has reported that the Shumba and Jambili camp sites are in a terrible state, as there is no water due to tanks being damaged, plumbing facilities have also been damaged, and therefore these sites can not be used for camping presently. We will see what we can do here, however our priority is sorting out the water situation in the park and once this is achieved we will look into fixing the campsites. 

What we need: We would greatly appreciate any help with the following items (one off):
1. Tent(s) to accommodate 6 people
2. 5 Ton Chain Block 
3. Over Head Gantry 
4. Different type of hoist slings 
5. Set of Pipe Die 
We will also need the following items to repair the pumps and engines:
Pump rods – galvanised 16mm rod couplings, 50mm galvanised pipes, 75mm and 50mm x 12mm steel bolts & nuts, spring washers, jubilee clips, galvanised nipples, 50mm and 25mm brass gate valves, engine oil, oil and air filters etc. If you are able to help in cash, kind or provide materials at cost we would be extremely grateful!

Thank you!
We would like to thank the following companies and individuals 
for their generous donations:
- Waleed Y. Zahid & Mohamed Y. Zahid, for their most 
generous donation!
- HALSTEDS for their wonderful and continuous support 
- Produtrade
- Mitsubishi Fuso, for the use of the truck (photo top)
- Gerhard van der Merwe, for the welding machines
- Mr Maheesh Vargmaria of J. Mann in Bulawayo
- Mario Plumbers P/L (Bulawayo) 
- Meikles Africa Limited

On behalf of the trustees, I would like to thank you for your support!
Best Regards, Maha

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