World Report: September 9, 2005 Vol. 11 Iss. 2

Spotlight: Pontso Moletsane, Motobele Motshodi, and Sechaba Ramabenyane

Pontso Moletsane, 17, Motobele Motshodi, 17, and Sechaba Ramabenyane, 16, 16, just won the annual International Stockholm Junior Water Prize. The prestigious prize recognizes high school-age students who have done out-standing work in water-science research. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden awarded the South African students a $5,000 scholarship, which they will share. Their winning project, named the nocturnal hydro minimiser, is an automated irrigation system that runs mostly at night so that less water is lost to evaporation. It will help poor communities use their limited water resources more efficiently. "The competition standards were pretty high, but going to Stockholm was an achievement in itself," Pontso told TFK.