Around 200 NV Cewu Primary School pupils and several staff members gathered to meet the MobiSAM team during its visit to Joza on Friday 2 August.
Around 200 NV Cewu Primary School pupils and several staff members gathered to meet the MobiSAM team during its visit to Joza on Friday 2 August.
Thozi Ngeju, MobiSAM coordinator, arrived with his team of actors (Xolela Tsili, Philasande Majiza, Masixole Sandi and Khaya Kondile) to give their audience an important message – in the form of a play. They explained what the MobiSAM project is about and how people can use it to interact with the municipality when it comes to the water issues they face every day.
Ngeju wrote and developed a 20-minute play to spread the word about MobiSAM, incorporating humour to entertain learners and educate them about the online water-services monitoring application.
Performed in isiXhosa, the play is about a disgruntled union rep visiting the municipality to complain about the poor quality of his water. Tensions are high until “Sam” arrives and presents the simple solution of MobiSAM.
Sam explains how to register on www.mobisam.net and tells the audience how this will allow them to quickly and effectively report water problems to the municipality.
When mentioning water problems, he provides common examples of issues people are familiar with such as dirty water, water smelling “like Jik” or no water at all. The actors communicated their message clearly and enthusiastically, interacting well with the young audience both during and after the performance.
At the end of the play, they handed out pamphlets with the website address and a step-by-step diagram of how people can register on their phones and MobiSAM users.
Children were also encouraged to tell their parents.
Reflecting on the event, Ngeju said “Although the learners were young, they seemed to understand the humour and later that day some parents phoned me enquiring about MobiSAM. This means that the learners took the message to heart and passed it on to their folks.”
The play was also performed during the Fingo Festival and will be performed at other local primary and secondary schools in the upcoming weeks. For more information about MobiSAM, visit www.mobisam.net or www.facebook.com/mobisam.net.
