Gabriella Mogale was deeply moved by all the devastating fires that raged in 2017 so she decided to find a solution to help prevent future loss by focusing on Shack Fires.
Gabriella Mogale, who attends Collegiate Girls’ High School has come up with a solution that will help prevent Shack Fires. She entered her project into the regional Eskom Expo for Young in 2017 and it won her a gold medal.
One of the judges was really impressed with her idea but felt it could be improved on so they encouraged her to work on the idea even further and re-enter it into the competition in 2018. Now that she is in Matric, she has added to her concept and plans to enter the regional Eskom Expo again.
“I didn’t really think it would be something big because it was such a simple idea, I was just watching TV and the Knysna fires were on, I started thinking how nice it would be if someone could actually find a solution for the fires that had been ongoing.”
She focused her efforts on Shack Fires because of how quickly they jump from one shack and spread across an entire informal settlement, sometimes even wiping out an entire community.
“At the beginning, it was a school project and now people have reacted positively to it on social media,”
Her project has a focus on fires but the product she has come up with will also help the shacks stay warm during cold months and prevent people from falling ill.
Gabriella’s invention is a two-part solution. She designed a mixture of recyclable substances that would be painted onto the interior of the shacks corrugated iron. The second mixture will be applied to the exterior of the shack to make it fire-resistant.
“You never think you would create or do something great until you do it. And having come from a disadvantaged background, I have always wanted to be that person who is going to change the lives of someone who was like me.”
Her passion for Science and Mathematics are driving her to pursue a future career that will allow her to work with the subjects daily. She has an incredibly bright future and we look forward to seeing more of her successes.
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