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When life gives you lemons, make power

SHE is only 18 years old, but Mulabo Devine is already a pioneer in science, having devised a system to electrify homes using lemon juice.

Devine, 18, is one of the pupils from Mbilwi Secondary School in Sibasa, Limpopo, who presented their science projects at the prestigious Eskom Expo for Young Scientists on Tuesday .

Mbilwi Secondary School is a specialised science and mathematics school. It belongs to the prestigious Club 100 which was launched by the government in 2006 to encourage pupils and teachers to excel in maths and science.

For a school to qualify to be a member of the club, it should have a minimum number of 100 matric pupils who pass maths and science in higher grade.

As part of the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists, the pupils spent months researching and creating their own projects while consulting with their teachers and academic staff from the University of Venda.

For Grade 12 pupil Devine, the answer for her Redox-electricity project came when she immersed copper and zinc wires in the electrolytic juices squeezed from lemons to create an electrical charge.

"When I looked around I noticed that almost every household in my village had a lemon tree," Devine said.

"I wanted to use something that was available but hardly used.

"This can help the community if one day coal supplies are depleted."

The Eskom expo makes it possible for pupils from 32 regions to enter their projects in any of its 25 categories ranging from animal sciences to renewable energy.

Those who excel stand a chance to win medals, bursaries and trips to international science fairs.

Dakalo Mudimeli, a 2009 silver medallist and former pupil at the school, said the initiative opened his eyes to new possibilities.

Mudimeli urged pupils to bring change to their communities through science.

"Always ask why? Ask your grandparents about old methods they used and develop them into projects that could solve today's problems," he said.

Mbilwi Secondary School School principal Nditsheni Lidzhade said South Africa would have to look to young scientists to provide alternatives for water and electricity needs.

"In the past, most of us had to go into the bush to get firewood while a few could press a switch on the wall to get light. Now all of that has changed, all communities need electricity," Lidzhade said.

With their project titled the Unmanned Robotic Fire-fighter, Caleb Kitui and Fortune Mantsho wanted to reduce the risk of burning faced by firefighters.

Made from an old remote-controlled car and aluminium covers, the device is created to go into high-risk situations while being controlled from a safe distance.

"We are looking into the future to protect our firefighters from harm," Kirui said. "We all saw how a firefighter died in Cape Town just recently."

Zainul Abedien Patel and his teammate, Sagir Muaaz, invented a wooden fridge that is charged using solar energy. The portable fridge, which is made mostly from recycled material, can even be charged from a car.

mahopoz@sowetan.co.za

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