On 15 August, Diana van Niekerk and Lethabo Moloto, two Grade 7 learners from Messina Primary, went to Thohoyandou to compete in the regional Eskom Expo competition and came back winners.

Their idea of generating electricity from faecal matter secured them a place in the national Eskom Expo to be held in Pretoria on 6 October.

Lethabo and Diana decided upon Potty Power as their project, a sustainable way of generating power by using human faecal matter and leftover food.  Methane gas that is released during the fermentation process is used to fuel a generator to provide electricity. South Africa is polluted by sewage running down streets and methane gas released on sewerage farms. Their message was to tap this energy source in a time when the electricity supply falls behind demand and causes load shedding.

Upon arrival at the regional competition, everyone had to place all their information and models on the exhibition boards provided. This was the very first time Messina Primary participated in the Expo for Young Scientists. The two girls competed against 173 other projects. One of the other ideas that was very interesting was the one in which a student fermented maize and used the leftovers in the fermentation tank to generate electricity.