NEWS
EDUTIMES
‘I’LL BE THE DIFFERENCE’
Continued from (page 1)
while appreciating that there are many African girls
with good ideas. The only challenge is that they are
not given the platform they need.
The only chemical I used in the project is silicon, as
chemicals affect the way the water is purified. The
water purifier is made out of wood or sheet metal-
right angled enclosure, a glass stack with a basin
containing contaminated water on the inside. The
purification process starts from there. The outside
of the enclosure is painted black and foil paper is
stuck to the side. The enclosure is painted black be-
cause black absorbs heat and for the water to be
purified, it has to be heated up and then condensed
into liquid.
My name is Mwangala Maunga; I was born on De-
cember 2, 2005. I did my primary education at Rock
of Ages in Libala. I attempted grade seven compos-
ite examinations when I was in grade six and made
it to grade eight with 771 points. I am currently
doing grade nine at Roma Girls Secondary School
in Lusaka. I find secondary education quite man-
ageable. The secret is just to pay attention to what
is being taught and knowing the reason for being in
school.
message to such children?
I know it is hard for such children; however, I
would like to encourage them to use their tal-
ent to their own advantage. If one has a talent
of painting and uses their talent to paint a pic-
ture of the Republican President who recog-
nises such an effort and funds your art work,
you can attain your goals in life. One can use
proceeds from art to further their education
and improve their art work.
Q: You are the 2018 winner of the
power puff Girl Buttercup Awards…
how did you get to know about the
awards?
I saw the advertisement on DSTV, so I searched
the internet for more information on the re-
quirements for the awards. I discovered that
Zambia was eligible to participate. I became
interested in taking part and started to work
on my project which I started in grade six.
I was interested because I recently attend-
ed a convention on water purification, under
Davis and Shirtliff. I got the idea from there.
Not many people in rural areas have access to
electricity to boil their drinking water; cutting
down trees for charcoal is also detrimental to
the environment as it causes deforestation.
I looked for an idea that would minimise the
use of charcoal and only depend on natural re-
sources such as the sun to purify water.
Q: How did you develop the idea
which helped you to win the award?
Q: What is your take on child mar-
riage?
Mwangala looking at her finished work at their
residence in Lusaka. Pictures courtesy of Mul-
tichoice Zambia Limited.
Q: What is your motivation for what
you are doing?
My family has been my motivation to a great
extent. They have all been very supportive of
what I do; they embrace my ideas and offer
their help and counsel where necessary. My
other motivation comes from my role models–
Albert Einstein and Mary Kelly.
Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in
Ulm, Württemberg, Germany. He died in April
18, 1955, Princeton, New Jersey. He was a
German-born physicist who developed special
and general theories of relativity and won the
Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 for his expla-
nation of the photoelectric effect. Mary Kelly
was born in Iowa, America in 1941, as America
entered the Second World War. In the 1960s,
she travelled to Beirut to teach art but left as
the country descended into civil war.
I developed the water purifier because I knew that
it would automatically win me the award. The idea
is not new to me…it was work in progress. As I said
earlier, I initiated it when I was in grade six at Rock
of Ages. The water purifier is made up of different
ideas drawn from around the world, combined into
one, with some modifications. I have read a lot on
the different water purifiers, getting the concept
and ideas until I was able to come up with my own
idea. I did extensive research into possible ways
that the sun can purify water and I was inspired to
create something, bearing in mind the last cholera
outbreak that hit the city of Lusaka and surrounding
Q: What do you want to do when you
areas.
My major concern was how I could contribute to are done with your high school edu-
saving lives that continued to succumb to cholera
cation?
outbreaks. I wanted to change the situation. I ded-
I would like to study Mechanical Engineering or In-
icated every effort to make the best of my idea,
formation Technology at the Massachusetts Insti-
3
Q: By the time you finish school, you
will only be 16, you can’t enter uni-
versity at that age, what will u do?
In the two years before university, I would like
to enhance my knowledge in climate activism,
encouraging people and becoming a motiva-
I entered for the awards in August 2018. In tional speaker. I will dedicate my time to give
November, the entries closed and I followed hope to people who feel they cannot do any-
the advertisements that continued to run. I thing.
was very keen and anxious. When they start-
ed to announce the winners, I was so excit-
Q: What are your hobbies?
ed to find myself among the winners. In fact I
I love to read a lot. I read and write a lot. I read
was the best out of over 3,000 entries from 43
fiction books and sci-fi books.
countries.
What contribution do you plan to make to your coun-
Q: What kind of population can your try Zambia?
project serve?
I would like to give back to this country by getting
The water purifier is basically for a small popula- involved with various organisations which have as-
tion because the project is mostly dependent on the sisted in shaping me, I would like to share resources
availability of the sun to heat up the contaminated with the needy, helping people in need of education.
water in the enclosure, so that it could evaporate I have a heart for the people and when I get there,
and condense. One water purifier caters for a family this will be my pre-occupation.
of five. I am currently working on another project Q: Many children do not have access
which will ensure the purification of water even off
to Education as you do, what is your
the hot season. I am at the development stage.
Q: What happened when you entered
for the Buttercup Awards?
Question: Tell me about yourself
tute of Technology in the United States of America
(USA). The reason is that most girls don’t pursue
technical courses like mechanical engineering. It is
my hope and belief that I will be one of the few girls
to break into the “men’s world.” I am determined to
be among the few women to take up such a chal-
lenging career. I would love to contribute massively
to my country and more so to the people who have
managed to shape me into the fine girl that I am
today.
Child marriage is not good. What is the point of mar-
rying off a child when they are supposed to have an
education and become important people in the fu-
ture? Girls are supposed to get an education, as op-
posed to forcing them into marriage. It is not fair to
see communities practicing child marriage just be-
cause of poverty. I feel it is a form of discrimination
to force girls into marriage. Most of the girls who are
married off are very intelligent but they don’t have
the opportunity to further their education. In mar-
riage, girls are abused and their rights are violated
in many ways. I therefore appeal to parents to stop
forcing their girls into marriage and urge Govern-
ment to stiffen the laws to protect girls against be-
ing taken into marriage before their time, because
girls have a right to education.
Q: What is your message to fellow
young people?
I would like to encourage all young people to
believe in themselves, to believe in all the pos-
itive and constructive things that they do. Be-
lieve you can do it and it shall come to pass.
(90 seconds video)