COMMUNICATION Tel: (012) 339 7012/012 649 6554 Fax: 0866 558 7375 INTERNATIONAL LETTER-WRITING COMPETITION Dear Director/Head of Dept/Principal/Learner The South African Post Office is again proud to announce the International Letter-Writing Competition for young learners across South Africa. How does it work? Each year, the UPU International Bureau chooses a theme. Participating countries organize the competition at the national level through the post with the support of education authorities and the media. All entries must be submitted through the national Post. Each country chooses a national winner and submits one entry for the UPU international competition. Entries must reach the UPU International Bureau no later than 30 April each year. The theme of the 2013 competition is: "Write someone a letter explaining why water is a precious resource" The 2013 theme ties in with the International Decade for Action "Water for Life" 2005–2015. Water serves a multitude of different purposes, and it is vital that we preserve this precious natural resource. Access to water is essential to ensuring the health and well-being of humans and the protection of nature. The United Nations recently announced that the world had achieved the Millennium Development Goal by half, the proportion of the population which is without sustainable access to safe drinking water. Eighty-nine percent of the world population, or 6.1 billion people, now have access to an improved drinking water source. But 11% still does not. 2012 Prize Winners National winner Limpopo Mpumalanga North West KZN Western Cape Free State Eastern Cape Northern Cape Gauteng Tasneem Mahomed, Park Primary School, Lenasia Dipuo Nthane, Taxila Sec School, Polokwane Prudence Lubisi, Mjokwane Sec School, Komatiepoort Seipei Kekana, Maggies Millenium School, Mafikeng Trinity Z. Maphosa, Bayabonga Primary School, Dundee Zara Wichman, Star of the Sea Convent School, St James Lerato Magagula, Laerskool Sentraal, Bloemfontein…