- Ebomvini Primary School, received the Innovation and Students’ Choice awards at the Annual Water Explorer International Final Awards 2018, held in London last month.
The Water Explorer International final, held recently is London included 11 National Finalist teams from across the world. The competition was hosted by HSBC with teams setting up their own displays to show off all the amazing water saving activities they had done over the year.
The organisers then had the students go around the room to share their stories with the other teams. This was so the students could find out what water issues teams in other countries were facing and to help them to cast their vote for The Student Choice Award.
It was then time to sit down and watch the country highlights videos which showed the incredible work all the teams in the countries had been up to over the year. The delivery partner from each country then introduced their team and explained why they had been awarded their National Winner. The organisers commented that “it was amazing to hear all the different ways teams had saved water and approached the challenges”.
South Africa’s team, Ebomvini Primary School, were awarded the Innovation Award and The Student Choice Award for the fantastically creative ways the team upcycled rubbish and thereby save the ‘secret’ or embedded water hidden within them.
Esihle Gasa and Asiphile Mkhonde, grade 7 learners at Ebomvini, presented their school’s projects at the event. For both of them, it was the first time they left their home province of KZN and the first time they travelled abroad. They were accompanied by their teacher, Youth Mavundla.
Ebomvini was picked to represent South Africa after impressing a panel of judges in August. Some of their projects included safeguarding a local wetland and building a pond to attract frogs into a permaculture garden.
Switzerland’s team Ecole Cerniat were revealed as the Water Explorer International winner. They had blown away the judges with their amazing commitment to the water saving cause along with a deep understanding of the importance of water to people around the world. As they became more aware of the differences in access to water around the world they felt a responsibility to do something to help and managed to raise 5,000 Swiss Fancs to install a water supply system in a village in Togo.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
Source: Water Explorer
