This archive report was first published on 6 December 2019.
On December 6, 2019, Safal Group, a steel roofing manufacturer, announced the winners of the 2019 'Safal Eye in the Wild' photography competition, which aimed to promote sustainable conservation actions in Africa.
The competition received a great number of submissions from Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, with twenty-eight-year-old Daniel Charles Msirikale from Tanzania emerging as the overall winner for his piece showing two young boys heading home from fetching water with a third boy pumping water from a borehole.
Msirikale received a cash prize of Ksh300,000, beating other entries from professional and amateur photographers.
Kenyan top winners included Kamal Shah, who emerged the Silver Winner and received Ksh200,000 prize money, and Anthony Ochieng, who took the Bronze Award with prize money of Ksh100,000.
Denish Ochieng, a photojournalist with a Kenyan Media company, won The People's Choice Award with his photo that depicted a boy cooling down his head with high-pressure water from a tap, reaching over a million people online within a few days.
According to Safal Group Chief Executive Officer Anders Lindgren, the competition highlighted the impact of water conservation and celebrated humanity's ability to overcome challenges and live sustainably.
“We have invested over Ksh30 million in this initiative to raise awareness on alternative ways Africa can conserve and preserve the environment, in particular our water resources,” Mr Lindgren said.
Meanwhile, the company announced a donation of Ksh 3,000,000 to Red Cross Kenya to rehabilitate water facilities within flood-stricken areas.
