For more than a decade, The Bahamas Water and Sewage Corporation (WSC) has made it their mission to educate Bahamian students on the importance of water conservation. One of the most interactive ways that they capture the attention of students is through an annual essay and video competition with great prizes. The 2016 WSC National Essay and Video Competition has just wrapped up and the results are in!

The topic for this year’s essay and video competition was “Water for Survival: Value Every Drop” students choose between entering a 400-500 word written essay or a three-minute video. The competition opened on March 29 and after the deadline on April 22, independent judges read all of the essays, watched all of the video productions and picked the winners. Three top entries were chosen from each category.

Winners in the essay competition were:

1st – Michael Miller, Queen’s College, Nassau

2nd – Dehron Smith, Nassau Christian Academy, Nassau

3rd – Mathilda Saintil, C.C. Sweeting High School, Nassau

Winners in the video competition were:

1st – Waynisha Saunders, C.V. Bethel Senior High, Nassau

2nd – Marbria Wilmore, St. Francis de Sales School, Abaco

3rd – Kamal Hudson, Aquinas College, Nassau

“Our thanks to everyone who participated. We were impressed with the standard of the entries and the variety of the submissions,” said Visna Armbrister, WSC Public Affairs Manager. “What is so impactful is that students share these essays and videos with their peers and the message of water conservation reaches every student in schools around The Bahamas.”

The first place winners for both the essay and video categories received scholarships toward their college tuition. The second and third place winners for each category won electronic prizes including laptops and tablets. The winners essays and videos have been published on their Facebook page: “The Water and Sewage Corporation” for viewing by all.

“This year we are thrilled to feature the participants work on our social media pages,” noted Armbrister. “We are now communicating daily with our clients on this media and it’s such a wonderful format for friends, parents and our clients to see the wonderful work these students created for our competition – it’s impressive to say the least.”

The Ministry of Education was instrumental in encouraging participation from schools in Nassau and the family islands. “We want to say a special thank you to Ministry of Education for their support of this educational competition, especially Mrs. Vanria Jack, Ms. Clarke, Saskia Black and everyone from the Student Services and Language Department. Thank you for supporting our goal to bring awareness to the vital significance of water and the importance of conserving it,” Armbrister concluded.

The WSC National Essay and Video Competition began in 2004 and is now in its twelfth year. The contest helps the WSC in fulfilling its mandate to inform and educate the public of the importance of water as a precious resource.