PRESS RELEASE
ELW Global have completed manufacture, supply and pre-deployment training on Diesel Field Kitchens (DFKs) and Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Units (ROWPUs) for the Zambian National Army.
ELW Global worked closely with Karmute Limited, an affiliated company in Zambia, on the contract for the Zambian Army.
Elements of the Zambian military have been deployed in the Central African Republic (CAR) since 2015 working alongside the UN (United Nations) in its MINUSCA integrated stabilization mission in the strife-torn country. Zambia is the fifth largest contributor to the mission behind Pakistan, Egypt, Bangladesh and Rwanda. Other MINUSCA troop-contributing countries are Cameroon, Morocco, Burundi, Mauritania and Gabon, giving the mission close to 13 000 uniformed personnel.
MINUSCA’s primary tasks are the protection of civilians, to facilitate humanitarian assistance, promote and protect human rights, and support justice and the rule of law. The United Nations mandated project also encourages disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and repatriation of belligerents on its agenda.
ELW Global’s flagship ROWPU 2K is a trailer-mounted water purification system, which, when utilizing the reverse osmosis (RO) process, produces a minimum of 2000 litres an hour (lph) of potable water. The design and manufacture of the ROWPU 2K makes it highly suited to projects requiring rapid response reaction when a water crisis emerges.
The ROWPU 2K is now also available on a rental basis in South Africa allowing municipalities and other entities to provide temporary purification without the need for electricity, according to ELW Global director Chris Miller.
ELW Global mobile kitchens stationed in Zambia
In addition to supplying directly to a number of UN troop-contributing countries, ELW Global water purification units have been delivered and commissioned in 11 African countries and the island state of Haiti. African countries using the system are Cameroon, Senegal, Guinea, Niger, Benin, Malawi, Somalia, Sudan, Botswana, Burkina Faso and South Africa.
Miller stated the training on the ROWPU and DFK takes four days and includes video, theoretical and practical instruction. The ROWPU schedule covers principles of water treatment and the reverse osmosis process, filtration, flocculation, iron removal and disinfection before moving on to practical, operational and maintenance training.
“By day three, trainees have a thorough understanding of all DFK and ROWPU functions, including set-up, adjustment and operations. After successful completion of the training, all trainees are certified and capable of deploying both the ROWPU and DFK in the field” according to Miller.