George high school learner takes water-saving invention to the global stage
|Published
Cape Town - Heatherlands High School Grade 10 learner Unam Halam has showcased the talent of South African youth at World Water Week in Stockholm.
Hailing from George, Unam this week presented the Drop Saver intervention tool that she and her partner Faith Claasen created to curb water leaks.
The 16-year-old presented the intervention at the Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition, where she competed with learners from 30 countries who shared innovations focused on water-based solutions. The winner will be announced today.
Marissa Murphy, the Heatherlands High School teacher who worked with the girls and accompanied Unam to Stockholm, said the learners identified a dripping tap at their school that was used by all the learners.
“Once the learners drink water, most of them leave the tap running, expecting the next person to close it. That leads to a lot of water being wasted.
“Faith and Unam identified that the tap was a problem and started looking around for solutions, which was how they came up with the Drop Saver,” Murphy said.
The Drop Saver device can be attached to a tap and help prevent water leaks, thereby helping save water in communities.
On Tuesday, on the sidelines in Sweden, Unam sat down with Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu, where she shared her views about water scarcity affecting parts of the country.
“The Western Cape province experienced the worst recorded drought in history between 2016 and 2018. This period reminded us that water is a precious commodity and to ensure the long-term water availability and supply we have to start making waterwise changes now,” said Unam.
Both Faith, 17, and Unam wanted to be involved with the implementation of their invention, and saw it being used across the country, especially in places where there was more water wastage and in neighbouring schools.
“By virtue of you making it this far, you are a winner. I am very impressed with the invention and happy that you do not want it to gather dust without being implemented. You have my full support,” said Mchunu.
kristin.engel@inl.co.za