Winning pupil to fly SA flag high
REGIONAL – Group Editors journalist Blake Linder of Knysna-Plett Herald has been invited to attend the World Water Week conference in Sweden, and will provide national coverage of the event across all the Group Editors and Caxton online platforms. The conference kicked off in Stockholm on Tuesday.
In the meantime, Unam Halam (16) from George is bursting with excitement at the prospect of representing South Africa at the Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition during the conference.
The competition takes place on 30 August and Halam is jetting off to Stockholm on Friday 26 August for an exciting week of all things water.
The trip to Sweden comes after Halam and her close friend and classmate, 17-yearold Faith Classen, won the Department of Water and Sanitation's science and technology-based South African Youth Water Prize (SAYWP) competition in May this year.
The duo is currently in Grade 10 at the Heatherlands High School in George and aim to fly the South African flag high through their invention of the Drop Saver, which is aimed at curbing the spread of water leaks in their school and community.
"When my parents heard that we won the SAYWP competition, they were super proud of me and very emotional. Winning does not only symbolise jetting off to Sweden for the first time in my life but of importance to me, is that my future will be well taken care of," said Halam.
This is as she plans to pursue studies in Environmental Water Science through a comprehensive bursary which will be funded by the Department of Water and Sanitation. "I want to further my studies until PhD level in the hydrology field," she said. "The bursary will help me a lot as my dream of becoming an engineer is slowly coming true and knowing that my parents won't have to worry about tuition fees, puts my heart at ease."
Meanwhile Classen, who has always dreamed of becoming a medical doctor, will use the bursary to study towards a qualification in microbiology after she completes her matric. Although she is unable to travel to Sweden with her mate to showcase their invention, Classen has wished Halam well.
"I really wish I can be there with Unam, but due to personal reasons, I am unable to attend. I know she will do her best to represent our school and the whole country," she said. Marissa Murphy, who is the pair's physical sciences teacher, said working with the learners has been a privilege as they are both hardworking and dedicated.
"I started teaching physical sciences at the school at the beginning of this year. This is when I met Faith and Unam and it has really been a privilege for me to be able to work so closely with both of them during the competition," said Murphy.
She also added that the two girls have different personalities and yet complement each other.
"Unam is very outgoing and keeps us at the cutting edge with her excellent sense of humour, while Faith is the quiet one, but very knowledgeable about things happening in the world."
Murphy will be travelling to Sweden with Halam and looks forward to seeing the innovative strategies used in other countries. She plans to bring back new ideas to the school and the community.
"I hope that this invention will grow into something that will not only be implemented at our school, but also at other schools and surrounding communities where a lot of water is being lost daily. The Drop Saver invention has also had a very positive impact on the way many of our learners at school look at water. They talk about the invention and how it has changed the way that they look at a leaking tap or any instance where water is wasted," she said.
The school principal, Salomo Moses, beamed with pride while expressing immense gratitude for the school's participation in the competition. "I am humbled by the achievement of our girls and the educator. This is an honour for me as a principal to have played a part in the future of saving the earth from drought and starvation through a very creative idea our physics learners put together," he said.
Stockholm Junior Water Prize is a competition for students aged 15 to 20 who have developed research projects that can help solve major water challenges. The competition attracts tens of thousands of entries from over 40 countries.