Representatives from seepex, Inc. would like to invite area residents and business owners to a sort of “show and tell” event being held at the business Thursday, January 30, that will showcase the company’s work with non-profit organizations installing water pumps in third world countries.

Kamran Mirza, Director of Business Development at seepex, Inc., said this project will “put Enon on the global map,” as the company is manufacturing water pumps that will be used to bring water to citizens of Malawi, a small Republic in southeastern Africa. “Many third world countries do not have access to clean drinking water,” Mirza said. “And if they do, they have to walk miles and miles just to find it.

A team from Design Outreach successfully installed a LIFEPUMP in Zolomondo, a Malawi village, on December 11, 2013. Photo from Design Outreach.Through the collaboration with Design Outreach, a non-profit organization striving to create life-sustaining solutions for developing countries, and World Vision, a larger umbrella organization over many charitable entities, seepex, Inc. is literally changing the lives of many Malawians by manufacturing hand-operated water pumps to be used directly within a village or town. Mirza said the collaboration was started with the Central African Republic, but shifted to Malawi because many of the continent’s nations are now gripped in the throes of civil war. Malawi, Mirza said, is very peaceful.

Mirza said the project is beneficial to residents of Malawi and Clark County alike, as the water pumps being manufactured here aid the local community in terms of employment. “This helps the global community get clean drinking water, and it improves the local community and economy as well, because this project requires the use of advanced materials, and we are very blessed with a lot of good material suppliers in this area,” Mirza said, adding that the need for such supplies would likely provide more employment opportunities for workers in Clark County. “It’s a humanitarian effort on behalf of the community—it provides clean drinking water for the world, and it creates more jobs that will help the local economy too.”

seepex, Inc., which manufactures the “key elements” of these water pumps, was not motivated by profit to collaborate on this project, Mirza said. “We have the knowledge and the resources to do it, so it helps to give back to the community,” he said. “The intent is that this program will continue to grow,” said Mirza, adding that seepex, Inc. manufactured 100 of these water pumps this year, with ten pumps already installed and running in Africa. “If it goes well, maybe we can make 1,000 pumps per year.”

Representatives from Design Outreach travel to remote locations such as Malawi to understand each area’s specific needs, and partner with businesses such as seepex, Inc. in order to better-serve the region, but in most cases, water is the number one demand. Design Outreach says 780 million people in the world lack access to clean drinking water. That’s more people than the entire combined population of every European nation. Design Outreach, in collaboration with manufacturers such as seepex, Inc., created LIFEPUMP, a hand-cranked water pump capable of reaching water hundreds of feet deep.

Mirza said videos were taken of people in Africa during their new well’s first operation, and their reactions were undeniably touching. “These videos…when the people see the water coming up from the ground for the first time, the entire village breaks out in song…it changes their way of life completely,” said Mirza.

All are invited to learn more about this program by visiting seepex, Inc. on Thursday, January 30 from 5 to 8 p.m. Mirza said guests will be able to touch and see elements of this project, as well as being shown videos of recipients of the water pumps in Africa. seepex, Inc. is located at 511 Speedway Drive in Enon.