Pakistani school won big at the climate change conference COP 28 in Dubai for presenting an innovative project for tackling climate change and preserving resources.
The project of setting up a water filtration plant and sensor taps to minimize water wastage and organic farming at the school won the Zayed Sustainability Prize worth $100,000. It also secured the title of top Global School in South Asia.
The school is being run by Kashmir Orphan Relief Trust and was in tight competition for the prize with two other finalists from India and Bangladesh.
“The awards were something we never imagined. Our focus is to conserve water and make drinking water available to scarce places,” said the Pakistani girl Summaiya Bibi who received the prize from Dubai’s President Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al-Nayhan.
“It is a matter of pride for us,” said Sumaiya, representing her school managed by Kashmir Orphan Relief Trust (KORT).
“We are very passionate about providing nutritious food to children at the orphanage. We believe in growing all our fruits and vegetables organically,” said another Pakistani girl Kinzal Bibi.
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The students said that they had been working on this project for a very long time to address the water shortage in Pakistan. They have set up the project in their school as well and are planning to go further with its expansion.
Both students are among the victims who lost their parents in the deadly earthquake of 2005. The KORT was established soon after the earthquake in Pakistan. However, the schools and colleges were established in 2006.
The owner of the trust Mohammad Akhtar says there are 500 children in his school. The prize money will be used for clean drinking water and organic farming projects in rural areas. Akhtar is a businessman based in the UK.