SILVERDALE Primary School won the Water Week competition, held during national Water Week to raise awareness of the importance of saving the precious natural resource.

Four schools from around Buffalo City took part in the competition; they had to create a banner with the theme of Water Week in mind, Water is life – securing the nation's water needs across generations.

Water Week, an annual national initiative organised by the Department of Water Affairs, ran from 2 to 8 March. It is aimed at educating people about the importance of water, a vital but scarce resource. The prize giving ceremony was held in East London on Friday, 20 March.

Welcoming participants to the prize giving ceremony, the City's director of public safety, Vuyani Lwana, said: "It is good to see children from disadvantaged families participating in exercises of this nature.

"This will change their lives and show their artistic talents. Congratulations to those people who have won."

The four schools were Masikhanyise Senior Primary, Silverdale Primary, Gill Ntoni Primary and Mzamowethu Primary. They were given three weeks in which to design and create their banners, and each week area inspectors visited each school to check progress and give advice.

The inspectors also looked at the hygiene of each school in determining the winner.

City health practitioner, Linda Mboya, gave an overview of the competition and the purpose of the day. "The competition included four schools from both inland and coastal areas of Buffalo City."

Officials from the City visited the schools and gave educational talks. "Children were taught about the importance of water and water usage."

She explained that children had to learn to use water wisely. "The week is also aimed at raising awareness of water-borne diseases, including cholera and its treatment."

Each school presented to guests their banners, explaining the thinking behind their creations. Sibusiso Maziko, from Mdantsane's Gill Ntoni Primary School, talked about their banner which had pictures of people using water in the garden and home.

"We are suppose to reduce the amount of water we use, especially when taking a bath and showering."

The day ended with the handing over of prizes. Silverdale Primary, which came first, received hampers and a floating trophy while the other three schools received hampers from the Department of Water Affairs.

In conclusion, the department's Unathi Tshayingca said, "We want to raise the awareness of South Africans … that there is less water than we think."