Water Watch Penang (WWP) organized the “Negalitres for School” River and Water Education Programme at SMK Permatang Rawa on September 2, 2024. Sixty Form 1 students from two classes (1 Baiduri and 1 Akik) participated in this programme accompanied by three teachers, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the SMK Permatang Rawa Computer Lab.
Ms. Fatin Azahara, WWP Programme Officer, led the session with support from WWP interns Ms. Nurul Husna, Ms. Fatin Amira, and Ms. Khor Ci Shan. Ms. Fatin Azahara provided an overview of WWP’s goals before fostering an informative discussion on regional, national, and global water issues. She highlighted the importance of teamwork in resolving the water crisis and emphasized that Penang has the highest water usage in Malaysia despite having the lowest water rates. The students also discussed the state of water resources around the world, with a special focus on the challenges faced by African nations in obtaining clean water. Additionally, they learned about the health dangers associated with drinking polluted water.
Next, Ms. Nurul Atiqah explained the use of macroinvertebrates as indicators of ecosystem health and taught the students how to assess the quality of river water. Through activities that required them to calculate their daily water consumption, students became more aware of their own water usage. WWP interns were instrumental in ensuring that every student understood how to perform the calculations using the provided formula. Furthermore, two students were selected to demonstrate the calculations on the whiteboard at the front of the computer lab. Quizzes were administered at the end of each session to test what the students had learned, and those who answered correctly received a souvenirs as a token of appreciation from Water Watch Penang.
The “Negalitres for Schools” programme, launched on March 22, 2022, was coordinated by WWP in partnership with Intel Corporation and CLEAN International, and in collaboration with Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) and PBAPP. This project is fully funded by CLEAN International Inc. and Intel Corporation, with additional support from the Ministry of Environment and Water and the Penang State Education Department. Local partners include the Penang State Government, through the Penang Green
For more information, please contact WWP Executive Manager, Dr. Hong Chern Wern, at hong.wwp@gmail.com or contact WWP at +6019-5751253.