World Water Monitoring Day – Masiphumelele

Emanti Management kicked off their World Water Monitoring Programme for 2011 at Masiphumelele Library in the informal settlement of Masipumelele (near Kommetjie) outside Cape Town, South Africa, 29th January 2011. The event was organized with the assistance of ERM, Environmental Resources Management.

The community of Masiphumelele, which means “we will succeed” in Xhosa, built the library in 2003.  Since opening its doors, the library has developed extensive volunteer programmes, strong encouragements of other communities/individuals sharing their strengths and skills with the Masiphumelele community.  One of these programmes is a tutoring programme for young scholars held every Saturday.  Emanti Management was approached to conduct a WWMD programme with the learners on one of their tutoring Saturdays, educating and making them aware of the importance of protecting our water resources.  More than 50 students, between the ages of 15-17, participated in activities on this day.

Emanti started the programme by giving a brief introduction to water management and the main purpose of World Water Monitoring Day.  Thereafter, students were divided into groups and given a WWMD kit allowing them to perform basic water monitoring tests of two different water sources in the nearby surrounding area.

Besides students getting a valuable hands-on experience in science, they also learnt the importance of protecting our water resources and that stewardship of the environment is everyone’s responsibility.