Mthatha’s Khanyisa High School learners, Siyabulela Vuke (15) and Nqobile Sibuta (17), came third in the South African Youth Water Prize (SAYWP) national competition held in Pretoria on May 27.
The duo made it to the national finals after sweeping away their competitors and claiming the first spot in the provincial leg of the competition held in Qonce early in May.
The SAYWP is hosted by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and is aimed at encouraging Grade 10 and 11 learners to create innovative projects in the field of water science.
Vuke, currently in Grade 10, and Grade 11 learner, Sibuta’s innovative water science project shone the spotlight on water problems currently faced by communities in Tsolo, who currently share unsafe water from the river with animals due to communal taps running dry for months.
Their innovative project proposed smart solutions to the identified problems, such as the use of water tanks to harvest and store water from the river, where it will be purified using low-cost purification solutions to make it safe for human consumption while simultaneously ensuring an uninterrupted water supply during drought and other natural disasters.
“Promising young scientists showcased their innovative solutions to the water sector, convincing national adjudicators that their projects could change the sector.
“Siyabulela Vuke and Nqobile Sibuta managed to beat seven provinces in their water purification research in the national competition but missed out on the chance to jet off to Stockholm, Sweden.
“The department continues to encourage young people to participate fully in these programmes and take up water-related studies at tertiary institutions,” read a statement from DWS.
Vuke and Sibuta have already secured themselves fully funded bursaries sponsored by the DWS to study water science-related studies at tertiary institutions of their choice as a reward for having won the provincial leg of the SAYWP.
