By Lebogang Mashala

With support from the Beefmaster Group and the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), Onalenna Mafora and Jorja Annabelle Lee will represent the Northern Cape at the national finals of the South African Youth Water Prize (SAYWP) in Pretoria this month.

In celebration of Youth Month, the Beefmaster Group has supported an innovative project by two young schoolgirls aimed at developing a home-grown water purification and monitoring system to tackle water safety issues in their community.

The girls from Kimberley Technical High School, Jorja Annabelle Lee and Onalenna Mafora, have won the Northern Cape leg of the South African Youth Water Prize with their project, which actively addresses one of South Africa’s most pressing challenges: access to clean, safe water.

As the largest private employer in Kimberley, Beefmaster Group played a crucial role by sponsoring the parts necessary for the students to overcome significant challenges during the project’s development.

Motivated by their personal experiences with unreliable water infrastructure, Jorja and Onalenna designed a multi-stage filtration system that includes real-time monitoring. This feature aims to prevent contaminated water from reaching household taps, especially given that official reports indicate 87% of drinking water systems in the Northern Cape are either performing poorly or are in critical condition.

When Jorja and Onalenna began working on their water filtration and purification system to enter the South African Youth Water Prize, their motivation extended beyond just gaining exposure, winning prize money or competing with peers internationally. For them, it was deeply personal.

“A few years ago, I was absent from school for two weeks because I drank tap water and developed a horrible stomach infection,” recalls Jorja. Onalenna sees the daily leaks and disrepair at a municipal water plant near her home. “What inspired us is what we observe in our communities – the high costs everyone has to pay for bottled water when we should be able to trust the water from our taps.”

The DWS conducted authoritative surveys of the country’s water supply systems, including the Blue, Green and No Drop reports for 2023 and 2024. These reports found the Northern Cape has the highest percentage of poorly or critically performing drinking water systems, at 87%, compared to 48% in 2014. Even more concerning is the fact that nearly half of South Africa’s municipal water is unsafe to drink. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United Nations and Yale University rank South Africa’s drinking water quality among the lowest in the world.

The South African Youth Water Prize

One of the ways the DWS is addressing water pollution is by involving communities and youth in finding solutions. The South African Youth Water Prize is a prestigious national competition for learners in Grades 9 to 11, hosted by the DWS in partnership with the Stockholm International Water Institute. Through this competition, the DWS aims to encourage young people to pursue careers in science and technology.

Instead of creating an entirely new system, Jorja and Onalenna focused on improving the existing one in their hometown, the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality. Their invention recently won first prize in the Northern Cape leg of the South African Youth Water Prize.

“Our system uses multiple stages of purification to target the microscopic bacteria and chemical residues that can slip through the system,” explains Onalenna. “What really sets it apart is the real-time monitoring. Current systems only test water occasionally, but real-time monitoring can immediately detect problems, allowing us to address them before the water reaches our homes.”

Skills development

Cindy Nkgoeng, HR Manage at the Beefmaster Group, emphasised the group’s commitment to skills development in some of the country’s most impoverished regions, including the Northern Cape and North West. “We believe in investing in young minds and their innovative approaches. We want to support those who come up with solutions – people who can shape our communities and drive our country toward a better future,” said Nkgoeng.

“We aim to equip the youth with critical skills that will make them employable in agricultural industries,” she added. Nkgoeng mentioned that over the past two years, they have supported six students aged 21 to 23 who are pursuing degrees in Animal Science, Agricultural Economics and Biochemistry.” Once these students graduate, they will be employed within the business to gain practical experience and fill critical skills gaps in the industry.”

“It is our vision that these initiatives will not only contribute positively to the high youth unemployment rate in the country and the Northern Cape province but also add value to companies and the economy. By doing so, we are giving young people a genuine opportunity to participate meaningfully in the agricultural sector,” said Nkgoeng.