MBOMBELA – Have you wondered how the water we drink from the tap is purified?
That is the task that faced 18 schools within the subcatchments of the Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA) area during the provincial science school competition. It was held at Riverside Mall last Thursday.
The schools were each given five litres of contaminated water to purify to a drinkable standard.
According to Sonnyboy Mhlongo, one of the adjudicators, conserving the five litres of water also played part in choosing the winner.
Having been given one hour to purify their water, at the end Kurhula Secondary School from Huntington in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality walked away with the first prize as provincial champions after accumulating 82,9 per cent.
Rev SA Nkosi Secondary School from Fernie in the Chief Albert Luthuli Local Municipality came second with 79 per cent and Hoyo Hoyo Secondary School from Cunningmore in Bushbuckridge took the third prize with 76,8.
As their rewards, each learner from Kurhula received a shopping voucher of R5 000 and their teacher received a voucher of R3 000.
Rev SA Nkosi learners received a shopping voucher of R3 500 each while their teacher got R2 000 voucher.
Third-place finishers, Hoyo Hoyo learners, received shopping vouchers of R2 000 each.
Cedric Sibisi, a mathematics and physical science teacher at Kurhula, which was established in 2016, said he was excited to guide the school to glory in his first year as a teacher.
“I have just recently been employed at Kurhula. I completed my teaching studies at the University of Limpopo last year. This is my first year as a full-time teacher and the first competition I have entered. I’m very thrilled with the win. All praise to the learners and the school for supporting us,” said Sibisi.
According to Themba Khoza from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), they annually celebrate the National Water Month throughout March.
The theme for this year’s celebration is “Leaving No One Behind – Water for All”.
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“This theme is crucial as it emphasises the importance of water as a basic human right, especially as March is Human Rights Month. What is also so important with creating awareness on the centrality of
water to all aspects of life is that World Water Day is celebrated on March 22, a day after commemorating Human Rights Day,” said Khoza.
He said as part of the awareness celebrations, DWS in partnership with the IUCMA and other sector partners celebrated the National Water Month through the provincial science schools competition.
Other stakeholders that were part of the event were Komati Basin Water Authority, Rand Water, Sappi, Silulumanzi, the Department of Education, Barberton Mines, Ayama and ZMG.
Nick Dreyer, Sappi’s technical manager, said Sappi was honoured and exited to be part of this year’s national water week school competition.
He said it was through such initiatives that they can find the future science leaders.
“Sappi is not only a globally listed company with a good portfolio, but we are a company that takes pride in caring for the environment and the community. Our success this year is built on our energy, commitment and hard work. Over the past three years we have made tremendous progress towards attaining our strategic and sustainability goals. I am confident we are well on track to meet our 2020 vision objectives and have great momentum as we begin to plan for 2025,” said Dreyer.
