Saturday, December 28, 2013
When people are in survival mode after decades of war, can they think about a green future?
A school in Somalia proved it is possible and their efforts have led
them to the final list of contenders for a prestigious award, Zayed
Future Energy Prize, managed by Masdar, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy
Company.
“Teaching students to think sustainably is a great challenge in our
society, as decades of war have left most people in survival mode with
little mind space or capacity to think about long-term impact,” said
Jonathan Starr, Headmaster of Abaarso School of Science and Technology, a
non-profit advanced educational institute in Somalia.
In a harsh living environment the school currently relies on outside resources such as diesel generators for power and tankers to transport fresh water from 20 kilometres away.
Still “we were the first organisation in Somalia to erect a modern wind
turbine, with many in the country later following our leadership to put
up their own,” Starr said.
If the school wins the prize, the school will get $100,000 (Dh367,000).
The prizes for schools, which constitutes one category of the Zayed
Future Energy Prize, will be presented on January 20 in Abu Dhabi. Five
schools from the American, European, Asian, African and Oceanic regions
win the prize with Dh367,000 for every winner.
The prize is totally worth $4 million awards in five distinct categories — Large Corporation and Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (SME), Non-governmental Organisation (NGO), Lifetime Achievement and Global High Schools.
The prize, launched in 2008, represents the vision of the late Shaikh
Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE, who
championed environmental stewardship and sustainability as fundamental
aspects of the UAE’s heritage. The annual award recognises achievements
that reflect the impact, innovation, long-term vision and leadership in
renewable energy and sustainability.
About the school’s green projects that are considered for the award,
the headmaster said its sustainability measures include collecting
rainwater and utilising grey water for toilet flushing. Its waste
management system aims to use bio-gas for 100 per cent of its gas needs.
The school would now like to invest in solar panels and a hybrid system
for renewable energy.
The pupils’ work in the local orphanage, a community service initiative
focused on character building among them with traits such as tenacity,
integrity, and logical reasoning.
“For our recent entry examinations, orphans tutored by Abaarso’s
students were rated best at math in the country. This shows our students
are already making an impact on their community,” Starr said.
After decades of civil war, it is inspiring to think that in the years
to come Abaarso’s students can be the solution for Somali education,
peace, development and prosperity, he said.
“This is our motivating factor and also the reason why I work for free,
and why our highly qualified teachers accept just $250 (Dh917.5) per
month while working 70-hour weeks.
Sustainable living is taught by directly showing students how their decisions impact the world around them.
Abaarso’s pupils are taught to compost from the time they arrive at
school. They are also shown how their food, water and power decisions
impact the school’s finances. When waste goes up, pupils are told that
this could impact some of the luxuries they enjoy, as the school would
need to spend money to manage the waste. Such a line of argument
generally gets the pupils’ attention!
“Perhaps the most effective way we teach sustainability is for the
staff to model such behaviour and lead by example. The pupils see how
their teachers behave, and without necessarily knowing it, they take on
some of the same thinking,” Starr said.
The school has ambitious green plans, if it wins the prize.
“We will install water, waste, and energy solutions that add efficiency
and sustainability to our school operations. Examples of these include
grey water recycling, water catches, and turning waste into cooking gas.
In a society that faces water shortages, does not have a proper power
grid, and can ill-afford to burn down more trees, these projects are
even more important than they would be in other areas of the world,”
Starr said.
It is more important for future Somali leaders [pupils] living in an
environment that values sustainable resource management, he said.
The Prize’s benefits go well beyond one school to effect society as a
whole. Abaarso already attracts numerous visitors each day and the
school’s activities attract a great deal of attention.
“If we are fortunate enough to win this prize then efficient and
sustainable water, waste and energy techniques will be on display for
all other Somali institutions to see and adopt. Abaarso’s pupils can
then help teach others how to install such solutions in their own
organisations.”