GOLD MEDALS: Sive Nunu, left, and Lungelwa Tyeda from Intlanganiso High School in Khayelitsha
Live wires tackle shack fires
Published:Oct 25, 2007
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EMPOWERING: The annual Eskom Expo For Young Scientists encourages teenagers to communicate their discoveries in way that is accessible to their peers
Two Grade 11 pupils from Khayelitsha walked away with gold medals for their work, writes Christina Scott.
The national Expo For Young Scientists finals in Pretoria were an electrifying experience for teenagers Lungelwa Tyeda and Sive Nunu.
It was not electrifying because Eskom sponsors the expo, or because the subject of their display was the prevention of electrical fires in Khayelitsha’s densely populated Site C, where they live.
It was electrifying because, as a judge walked towards their exhibit, the 16-year-olds from Intlanganiso High School were connecting their equipment using an unfamiliar system of wiring. The surge protector tripped the power supply. The entire row of displays was plunged into darkness.
“We have learnt something,” said Sive ruefully. “We mustn’t do things when we’re not sure!”
But at the end of the day, the two Grade 11 students walked away with gold medals for their project, which used interviews with residents of their township to highlight the role played by dangerous electricity practices in starting shack fires.
The winners say their project was inspired by the need to prevent the frequent electrical fires in their informal settlement, which often lead to severe injury.
“We wanted to look at the main causes of the fires: people not switching off their electricity, cable theft, children getting shocked by live electrical wires left exposed by cable thieves and incorrect electrical wiring,” said Lungelwa. “Houses are burning each and every day because of illegal connections.”
They spent weekends and hours after school distributing questionnaires to neighbours. Then their work appeared at the Khanyagula Expo, now funded by telecommunications company Tellumat and facilitated by the Medical Research Council.
Khanyagula was started in 1997 by a small group of school science teachers from Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Guguletu and Langa.
Khalipha Ramahlape, community liaison officer for the Medical Research Council said: “The recent gold medals, as well as the increase in participation by underprivileged communities at the expo, are a manifestation of our passion to develop the next generation.”
Appearances in the Cape Town finals of the Expo For Young Scientists, which were held at the MTN Sciencentre, helped the two gospel-loving girls develop faith in their own abilities.
Lungelwa, lives with her little brother and her father, who is an unemployed foreman. Her mother and two sisters live in Nqamakwe in the Eastern Cape.
Describing the national finals, Lungelwa said: “Everyone there is very competent, so you must fight for yourself. We learned that you have to make you own way to the gold medal.”
It was the duo’s first visit to Pretoria.
“We stayed in hotels, it was so fabulous. The rooms, they are so nice. Their showers!” Lungelwa exclaimed. “There are no showers in houses in Site C. We have a tap in the yard.”
Sive’s gold medal hangs on the bedroom wall of her father’s Site C home. Most of the homes in the neighbourhood are made of wood and zinc. Illegal electricity connections dangle from rooftops.
Her father and her mother were very supportive,” she said.
The support of Chris Diwu, a science teacher at Intlanganiso High School, was also critical.
“When we came back from Pretoria with the gold medals, they introduced us to the whole school at assembly,” said Sive.
“ Our teacher was so happy. When we got to class , everyone clapped and he took a photo.”
Sive’s research for the Expo has resulted in her falling in love with engineering. And, despite her family having little money , she’s determined to study further.
“I want to prove that anyone who trusts themself can become an engineer,” she said. “Even if you’re a girl.”
In the meantime, both girls are working on their singing skills. Their cellphone voicemail messages, which ask callers to speak after the beep, are delivered gospel- style — soprano for Sive, alto for Lungelwa.
But they’re practising their maths as well as their music.
“Most people don’t want to do maths,” said Sive. “I think practice makes perfect. If you really want to do something, you have to ask in order to know it. I enjoy it and I like to practise it.”
They’re already planning to enter the 2008 Expo, even though they will be writing their matric exams next year. “We need to start preparing for it next month — after exams,” said Lungelwa.
They’re also good ambassadors for the competition and go out of their way to encourage other students to participate in it.
“There are many opportunities if you enter. For junior scientists it’s really amazing,” Sive said.
“You can win scholarships, you can win a trip overseas and you can experience a lot,” Lungelwa said.
She also praised the sponsors and organisers of the Expo For Young Scientists: “They’re doing a lot for many children. We really appreciate what they have done for us. ”
Detlef Basel of the MTN Sciencentre, who is a director of the Eskom Expo For Young Scientists, said:
“It’s incredible that the Western Cape students received 11 gold awards out of 22. That was quite superb, a brilliant effort by the learners.”
No comments:
Post a Comment