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This podcast series is made possible by JoJo - for water, for life

This podcast series is made possible by JoJo - for water, for life

Finding water with Oom Gideon

According to geologist, Dr Gideon Groenewald, South Africa is experiencing the worst drought event in a thousand years. Small towns like Makhanda and Graaf Reinet in the Eastern Cape, as well as the City of Cape Town in the Western Cape have been some of the worst affected settlements by what he explains is a 220 year global heating cycle the earth goes through – and which he also links to other major climate-related catastrophes across the world.

 

But Oom Gideon, as he prefers to be called, is more than a geologist. He is also a palaeontologist, hunting fossil remains and teaching young people about them with the hope that they will carry their lessons far into the future . His PhD research saw him walk vast tracts of land and mountain systems across South Africa, surveying them for water-bearing properties in 10cm intervals. Today, he brings this expertise and the lessons of deep time together to find groundwater for drought-stricken communities with the humanitarian aid foundation, Gift of the Givers. In the last three years alone, they have drilled over 1,800 boreholes, bringing relief to drought-stricken communities on the brink of collapse.

 

Oom Gideon leads us on a quest for water spanning hundreds of millions of years through deep time, urging us to fight for our future by honouring our precious water resources, the ancient knowledge etched into the land that holds it and the people who have always carried its memory.

 

 

For Water For Life – The water podcast tells the extraordinary stories of ordinary people who have made it their life’s mission to preserve, purify and protect South Africa’s water resources. This podcast series is made possible by JoJo – for water, for life.

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