Two enterprising teens from Kozhikode had been to the historic city of Istanbul in Turkey recently. They were there representing India in an international event — The 18th International Environmental Project Olympiad — which is affiliated to the United Nations. The Olympiad was held from May 19 to 22 at the Fatih College in Istanbul.
Dynamic duo
They were Taenaz Shakir a Plus Two student at Veda Vyasa Vidyalayam and Hanaan Bint Hashim, who is a former schoolmate of Taenaz and currently doing a science project with the Intel Technologies at Bangalore.
At the Olympiad, they presented a project highlighting the need for increased awareness among people about the quality of drinking water. The project included a PowerPoint presentation, a flex print display and a live experiment involving the hazardous effect of lead on living beings. The Olympiad witnessed the presentation of more than 100 projects by youngsters from as many as 44 countries including the U.S., Japan and Malaysia.
The brilliant-twosome from India didn't return home empty handed. They won a bronze medal! "With the song 'Jaiho…' from the movie 'Slumdog Millionaire' playing in the background we received the bronze medal from the chief guest at the valedictory function," said a proud Taenaz, who along with her team-mate Hanaan proudly put on view the Indian national flag at the ceremony.
The duo stated that their way up to the Olympiad was not easy as they ran into several obstacles while giving final shape to their project.
Hardships
Their live experiment on determining the effect of lead nitrate on aquatic organisms required a water flea called Daphnia Magna. “We had to conduct a marathon search for the flea across the myriad water bodies of the State, and without success,” said Taenaz.
She also added that this was despite the wholehearted support from the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) here. “At last we had to make a compromise and use a Guppy fish as an alternative for Daphnia in the experiment,” said Taenaz.
The team, which had problems in getting their visa on time, also had a sense of under-preparation haunting them all through the journey, according to them. “But at last everything ended on a pleasant and proud note,” sigh the triumphant teens.
And the lesson? “Never say die,” say the twosome, who had unconditional support from their families for the project.
And the message? “We have a lot to do towards creating an increased awareness among our people about the quality of our drinking water and the hazardous impact of water toxicity on living beings,” say the teens who were mentored by Dr. Kaladharan, senior scientist of CMFRI for the project.
