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WPC – a plumber’s perspective
What’s the good of talking?
Wa
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I’m a plumber who had the opportunity to feel part of something
bigger for the World Plumbing Conference. Over the two days, I
came to realise that it was all about us, the plumbers. All the highflyers were there because of us — not the other way round.
By: Richard Bailie
Most Plumbing Africa readers probably know that
Cape Town recently played host to the 11th World
Plumbing Council Conference held at the Cape Town
International Convention Centre. This is the second
time that South Africa has been given the honour of
hosting this international event. The first time was
in 1999 at Sun City in the North West Province, when
the country was still riding the highs of the 1995
World Cup and Madiba. A sense of optimism and
infinite possibility was in the air.
I was privileged enough to attend the 2016 conference,
and I made it my mission to soak up everything I could. I
also made several uncharacteristic decisions to approach
key people to introduce myself. I say uncharacteristic
because I’m usually the guy in the corner minding his
own business, trying not to be noticed. For these two
days, however, I made a conscious decision to be bold
and to be noticed, driven in large part by a realisation
that this was a once-in-a-lifetime event. It paid off —
well, for my psyche anyway if nothing else. This smalltime plumber from somewhere north of Cape Town was
able to mingle with the A-list without anyone knowing
that I was just a local one-man plumbing business.
I spoke to Sun Kim, the programme officer at the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation and a Boeing enginee r of
almost three decades to boot. I chatted to the president of
Plumbers Without Borders, Domenico DiGregorio, who is
doing wonderful work and is a wonderful guy too. I met the
president of the American Society of Plumbing Engineers,
and I introduced myself to Professor Mike Muller, the
conference chair. I met Lea Smith, the president of IOPSA;
connected with the editor of Plumbing Africa; and I had a
15-minute conversation with the guest speaker of the gala
dinner, Lewis Pugh. All uncharacteristic of me indeed.
Out of my comfort zone
Why, though? Why did I have such a desire to step out of
my comfort zone? I suppose the question really is, why
did I feel as if I would be a bit of a nuisance to them; just
another person they felt obliged to ‘nod and be nice’ to?
You see, everyone I spoke to and all the talks I attended
all had something in common. And as the conference
unfolded and the students bent their pipes in the skills
simulation hall, a common thread began to take shape
in my mind. At first, it was a bit hazy, but soon it became
very clear: it’s an honour to be a plumber. People injuring
their hands and getting dirty while plying their trade.
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