Ebomvini Primary makes waves in London

South Africa’s top Water Explorer team, Ebomvini Primary from Izingolweni proudly represented the country at the International Water Explorer event held at the headquarters of HSBC, (the world’s largest bank), in Canary Wharf, London recently.

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The SA team joined 11 countries to celebrate their water-saving achievements and projects over the past year and were excited to have been awarded the Innovation and Student’s Choice Award for Water Explorer 2018.

“I am speechless!” exclaimed the delighted team coordinator and teacher, Youth Mavundla. “It is more than an honour for us to attend this event, but winning these awards leaves us feeling so proud and humbled.”

Esihle Gasa and Asiphile Mkhonde, both in grade 7, were accompanied by their teacher on this once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was their first time out of the province and first time flying.

“I just loved the London Eye, Big Ben and seeing the guards at Buckingham Palace,” said Esihle. “It made me so happy to meet children from other countries and to hear about what water projects they have been doing.”

Students from countries including Turkey, Germany and Malta unanimously agreed that Ebomvini’s projects were creative, grounded and showed involvement of so many pupils and, as such, felt, the student award was well-deserved.

The innovation award was largely due to their ability to make projects happen with few resources. Their eco-brick effort was one that demonstrated this well.

They tackled non-recyclables – such as chip and sweet wrappers which ultimately end up in our rivers – through eco-bricking, from which they made useful outdoor furniture.

“Being part of the Water Explorer event has been fantastic. I am so happy to see other communities from other countries also saving water. It is important to be part of this programme. We are experiencing a drought and we have learned that saving water isn’t only about turning off taps. There is ‘secret water’ in everything we use and eat, so if we recycle and re-use, this helps to save lots of water,” said Asiphile.

In August, amid tough competition, Ebomvini was announced the top team for South Africa 2018, for their incredible efforts which, among many others, included safe-guarding a local wetland and building their own pond to attract frogs into their garden, maintaining the garden with grey water and mulching to prevent evaporation.

They have ensured tippy taps are always available for washing hands and the drinking buckets and cups are on hand in every class so water wastage is minimised. Pupils have been active in all phases of their projects: design, execution, maintenance and monitoring.

“Water Explorer has taught us so much. It is not just about this event, but about sustaining what we have started and inspiring others to do the same,” said Ms Mavundla.

She went on to say that South Africa has a limited water supply and our water quality has been compromised. “Water Explorer encourages all of us to use it sparingly and, importantly, be aware of our water footprints in what we use and eat.”

And if these incredible achievements weren’t enough, on their return to South Africa, they were overwhelmed to hear that their school had also won the International Youth WAFA Award (Water Air and Food Awards), an award that recognises community-inspired efforts to make a difference to water management globally.

Water Explorer is an online fun, inspiring and educational programme (www.waterexplorer.org) which empowers pupils to lead joint action on environmental issues looking through a ‘water lens’. Supported by GAP UK, the programme started in 2014 and is implemented by local partner, ACT (African Conservation Trust) in South Africa.

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