Hack for Water

South Africa is in the grip of the worst drought in a century, according to The South African Weather Service. Farmers and citizens across the country are struggling to get access to enough water. Crops are failing, livestock are dying and entire communities do not have enough water to survive. The result is that food prices are skyrocketing due to dwindling supply of local produce and staples like maize and wheat are having to be imported at a huge cost.

So what can you do to help?

We need YOU to get involved by coming up with innovative solutions and ideas that can help solve this complex problem. Here’s how…

Code for South Africa is working in partnership with the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) as well as the Open Government Partnership (OGP) to help address South Africa’s water shortages.

As part of a nationwide #Hack4Water challenge for South Africans to submit innovative solutions to water issues, we are hosting local hackathons across the country to bring everyone together and explore different approaches to the issues caused by this drought.

So, what is a hackathon? It’s a short intensive session where teams of people of different disciplines, like: techies, analysts, activists, journalist and others come together and collaborate around an issue to find solutions, tell stories and build tools.

Sound good? Here is how you can help:

Attend one of our local hackathons on 2 April 2016. Sign up here Host a hackathon (with our help) on 2 April 2016. Register here Submit a video entry to the #hack4water challenge. More info: here Spread the word! Send, share, start conversations, harass your clever friends: Facebook & Twitter

So come and join us, we look forward to seeing you there and working with you to find solutions.