Clean energy for school
A clean energy project for a rural school was implemented between the Durban University of Technology, Iqraa Trust and Muslim Charitable Trust.
A pioneering project using solar and wind to generate electricity has changed the lives of staff and pupils at Saphumula Senior Secondary School in rural KwaZulu-Natal. Since it was first established, the school has had no electricity, but thanks to some generous donations and Durban University of Technology, this has changed.
The system provides power to light up all the classrooms and other equipment that the educators need to use to support them while teaching.
The system was designed and implemented by the Technology Innovation Agency and KZN Industrial Energy Efficient Training and Resource Centre which are based at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) and was funded jointly by Iqraa Trust and the Muslim Charitable Trust with a total donation of R320 000.
At the handover, Prof Ahmed Bawa, vice-chancellor of DUT and Mahmoud Youssef Baker, chairman of Iqraa Trust and director of Albaraka Bank, highlighted the benefits that the new system will bring to the school.
In his address, Prof Bawa motivated the learners to concentrate on their studies and emphasised the learners should focus on studying science, maths and English, mentioning that it was only through science that the project which now provides electricity to the school can become possible.
Mahmoud Baker congratulated the school on the implementation of the project and emphasised the importance of education and urged the students to study hard. He stated learning would now become much more exciting and stimulating as it was now possible for the school to acquire and use much needed and essential equipment such as computers. Mr Baker indicated that Iqraa Trust would consider assisting the school in this regard. He also urged the learners, teachers and parents to do whatever it took to protect the system and the school for future generations.
Dr Ian Lazarus, head of department of physics at DUT handed over the wind photovoltaic and wind hybrid system to the principal of the school and talked at the function about the various benefits of this system.
