This Greenside learner has been lauded for his innovative idea

The ingenuity of a Greenside learner wins first place in a provincial competition, reports SANews.gov.za.

With his creative approach to water resource management, Yassen Akhalwaya, a Grade 10 student from the Johannesburg based school won first place in the regional round of the national South African Youth Water Prize (SAYWP) competition.

Akhalwaya, 15, defeated students from 13 other schools in the province to win the prize that will allow him to compete in the SAYWP Competition at national level.

His concept dubbed the “Project Weatherman/HydroLogic” focuses on enhancing water resource management especially for famers.

The SAYWP is a technology and science initiative. The competition starts at provincial level and moves up to the federal level. The national champion competes against learners from 30 nations each year in Stockholm, Sweden, for the Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP), representing South Africa.

In an effort to place first in the competition at national level, Akhalwaya claimed he found the adjudicators’ remarks to be enlightening and that he made notes on areas that needed work.

“I sincerely appreciate the department giving me this opportunity,” Akhalwaya stated, adding that there was still some room for improvement on his idea.

“I made notes to help improve my work and increase \ my chances of obtaining the number one slot at national level of the competition. The adjudicators’ comments provide vital input,” he said.

Akhalwaya took home a bursary, a first-place trophy, and R6, 000 for his innovative solution in water and sanitation.

For their awareness project, Good Hope Secondary School took second place. Along with an R5, 000 reward and a trophy for second place, the school went away.

The Greenside Secondary School also received R4, 000 for finishing third in an awareness initiative.

In the SAYWP tournament this year, fourteen Gauteng schools participated in a range of categories, including awareness, inventiveness, and creativity.

The Water Support Service department coordinator, Reshoketswe Malepe, expressed gratitude to the adjudicators—teachers, schools, stakeholders, and the media, among others—for their years-long support of the programme.

According to Malepe, “The only way to overcome the sector’s plethora of difficulties is active youth involvement in water and sanitation.”

The competition is a crucial component of the Water and Sanitation Education Programme, which teaches the public and students about issues pertaining to the management of water resources including effective water use, monitoring water quality, safeguarding water resources, public health, hygiene awareness and invasive species identification.

Editor’s note: A Greenside learner’s inventiveness has won him first place in a provincial competition.

The competition starts at the provincial level and moves up to the federal level.

The national champion competes against learners from 30 nations each year in Stockholm,

Sweden, for the Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP), representing South Africa.

Description: With his creative approach to water resource management, Yassen Akhalwaya, a Grade 10 student from the Johannesburg based school won first place in the regional round of the National South African Youth Water Prize (SAYWP) competition. The idea he came up with will help with water resource management especially for famers.

Editor: Thato Mahlangu

Project manager: Do4SA