THREE gr. 11 Taxila Secondary School learners will travel to Sweden from August 29 to September 5 after they won the South African leg of the Youth Water Prize competition.
The objectives of the Youth Water Prize competition are to promote the protection of the country’s natural resources and increase awareness among young people.
The programme also exposes young people to science and technology and motivates them to pursue water and sanitation careers.
It targets gr. 9 to 11 learners who identify problems related to water in their school and community, conduct a research and come up with innovations recommended to solve the problems.
Nthabiseng Motona, Tebogo Mamabolo and Dipuo Nthane proceeded to the national stage of the competition after competing against 22 teams from various schools in the provincial leg of the competition.
The learners built a model house with a purification system, which won them the national competition, booking them an all-expenses paid trip to Sweden to compete in the international competition.
They also won full bursaries to study any water-related courses at any institution of higher learning in the country.
Taxila principal, Tlou Ramara, said the school was proud of these learners’ achievements.
“They have shown dedication. A more passionate and enthusiastic team cannot be found anywhere,” said Ramara.
Nthane said they wanted to show other countries that they were from a developing country, but knew how to address water problems.
“We hope to represent South Africa well. We want to claim the prize this year,” she said.
South Africa won this competition in 2003 and 2005.
Mamabolo said the trip to Sweden was not only about winning the competition, but meeting new people and learning.
Motona said she was humbled to be part of the team and thanked their supporters.
Their life science teacher, Matome Mabitsela, will accompany the learners to Sweden. He advised other schools to enter competitions such as this to give learners more exposure.
The learners said they needed financial assistance to improve their model house. Anyone willing to assist them can contact Mabitsela at 071 433 9396.
