For underprivileged students, the Department of Water & Sanitation is sowing seeds of hope
At the Award Ceremony held on Friday, 10 October 2025, high school learners were awarded 54 bursaries, laptops, and tablets to acknowledge the innovative solutions they have demonstrated to address water and sanitation challenges in their schools and communities.
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I had the honour of attending the National Adjudication for the Water and Sanitation Education Programme 2025, where schoolchildren from across the nation competed in inventive and creative ways to raise awareness of sanitation, water resources management, and water services. The competitions also promote careers in the water and sanitation sector for high school learners.
At the Award Ceremony that took place last Friday, 10 October 2025, high school learners were awarded 54 bursaries, laptops, and tablets to acknowledge the innovative solutions that they have demonstrated to resolve water and sanitation challenges for their schools and communities.
It was an emotionally charged atmosphere as the learners received bursaries that will pave their way for a new chapter in their lives. It is a known fact that school learners, mostly from disadvantaged communities, don’t always have the resources to further their post-matric studies. For them, receiving a bursary or a gadget like a laptop felt almost unreal, like a dream they had never imagined coming true. The bursary will enable them to study water- and sanitation-related courses at the country’s tertiary institution of their choice.
During the awards ceremony, there was so much joy from learners and educators alike, but beneath it all, there was something deeper: a sense of hope being restored. As I watched, I was moved by what all these meant for the school learners, and I realised how far-reaching the Department of Water and Sanitation’s work truly is, not only to teach young people about water and sanitation but also to change their lives, to open their academic doors, and to create a future for them.
As the day ended, I carried with me a renewed sense of purpose. The Department is doing more than implementing its programmes to ensure sustainable supply of water and dignified sanitation for the people of this country – it is also planting seeds of HOPE to young South Africans to follow their dreams and become a beacon of light, not only to their communities but also to the country at large!
Nthabiseng Dhlamini,
Communicator at the National Department of Water & Sanitation.