Water is our most valuable resource and needs to be taken care of.
For this reason, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan has set out on a three-week-long educational campaign at schools throughout Ekurhuleni.
Themed ‘Water is life and sanitation is dignity’, officials from the city’s water and sanitation department are spreading their message through practical exercises with the children and handing out educational material.
The campaign is focused on sharing water-saving tips with primary school pupils, where they also get an opportunity to participate in practical activities such as fixing water leaks, which are a main cause of water loss in the city.
Already knowledgeable about water saving, Grade One learner at Strubenvale Primary school, in Springs, Tayron Mayer, shared his ideas with his schoolmates: “We must never leave the water running when we brush our teeth in the morning and we must always close the tap hard when we finish drinking water.”
“Water is life, we bathe with water, we water plants with water and we flush the toilet with water,” answered Kgontse Gumede when she was asked about the importance of water.
Meanwhile, the Grade Seven learners at Strubenvale primary school rolled up their sleeves to do the real work of fixing the problem of water loss from leaking pipes.
Khomo Sekgone and Cosmo Ayubu were paired to fix a leaking pipe using a leaking garden hose pipe, silicone tape and a hose clamp lock. The learners were required to work as a team to stop the leak. They worked on the challenge until they mastered it and they were competent enough to educate their peers on the exercise.
The confident Ayubu said, “I enjoy being handy around the house at home and usually assist my father to fix a lot of things, but today I feel like I have learnt something new and maybe I will teach him as well.”
The water preservation campaign started on 22 February at Windmill Park Primary School and will continue at schools in the southern parts of Ekurhuleni.
Also read:
*Ekurhuleni’s water saving programme
