RED CROSS WAR MEMORIAL CHILDREN ’ S HOSPITAL THERAPEUTIC PLAY AREA
As part of the planning process for the extension and redevelopment of the emergency centre at the Red Cross War Memorial Children ’ s hospital , the children ’ s play area and garden were lost due to the expansion of the building footprint . The Therapeutic Play Areas project has allowed for a significantly improved replacement of the existing facilities .
At the opening ceremony in April , the hospital ’ s Chief Executive said , “ Children are not just small adults , in 2018 the world health organisation developed standards for the quality of paediatric care in health facilities . In this document one of the standards recommends that child friendly age-appropriate equipment designed to meet children ’ s needs in medical care , learning , recreation , and play are available at all times . The health facility should have an appropriately equipped child and adulation friendly facilities including an appropriately furnished play and learning area , the environment should be clean comfortable and logically organised and furnished to maintain continuity of care and minimise a detrimental impacted on the experience of the child and the family of health care .”
KMH Architects was briefed to design the therapeutic play area as a meaningful retreat , which normalises the hospital environment , and promotes a positive impact on coping and feeling in control . Outdoor play spaces offer therapeutic respite for both in- and outpatients . Such play also connects children to an important aspect of nature - away from fluorescent lights , unnatural sounds and unfamiliar people that are characteristic to a hospital . The play area promotes play ‘ richness ’ and an engaging assortment of stimulating landscapes for children of all ages to navigate .
EASTERN CAPE RECEIVES NEW RECYCLING TOILET SYSTEM
WEC Projects , a South African EPC water and wastewater treatment solutions provider , has completed the installation of a NEWgenerator at Khanyisani Primary School near Bizana in the Eastern Cape . This project marks the first commercial installation of the NEWgenerator system in South Africa after extensive pilot testing . “ The deployment of the NEWgenerator system , which connects the school ’ s toilet block to a water and waste treatment and recycling system , represents an important step forward for delivering proper sanitation to remote and underserved areas . The region suffers from a serious water shortage due to its remote location and as a result a solution was required that drastically reduced water consumption ,” says Ntwanano Mandlazi , Project Manager at WEC Projects .
NEWgenerator was developed by the University of South Florida in the USA and built under license in South Africa by WEC Projects . It is a compact , offgrid , and modular sewage treatment solution that can be housed inside a refurbished shipping container . It incorporates an anaerobic bioreactor to treat biological matter and breakdown solids , ultrafiltration to remove solids , sequential nutrient capture tanks , and chlorine disinfection . Up to 98-99 % of the water can be recycled for reuse in the system and the biogas produced can be captured and used for applications such as cooking and heating .
This project was funded through the Water Research Commission ’ s SASTEP programme , a platform that fast-tracks the adoption of innovative and emerging sanitation technologies in South Africa .
“ We customised the system to include the waste from four unisex urinals which will be redirected back to the plant to supplement the liquid content of the wastewater for treatment and recycling . The treated water , which is not suitable for human consumption , is fed back to flush the toilets , resulting in a significant reduction in water consumption by the school , which relies mainly on rainwater for drinking water .”
“ NEWgenerator is an effective solution for replacing dangerous pit and chemical toilets , particularly in areas where water is scarce , making it ideal for deployment across Africa in a broad range of applications including the domestic and commercial sectors .” adds Mandlazi . www . wecprojects . com
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