A 16-year-old South African is the Middle East and Africa winner of the Google Science Fair's Community Impact Award. She is in line to be one of 16 global finalists and will travel to the Google headquarters in California for the awards ceremony.The finals are in September.The drought inspired Kiara Nirghin of St Martin's High School in Johannesburg to develop a way of keeping crops hydrated for longer and at a lower cost.Using orange peels and avocado skins, she created a material that could hold hundreds of times its weight in water in the soil. This super-absorbent polymer then acted as a water reservoir in the earth.Her idea, titled "No More Thirsty Crops", could have a huge impact on how the continent deals with climate change . Because of it s materials, it should not break the budget of farmers, as many other water-storage devices do.Kiara became interested in science at the age of seven when she experimented with vinegar and baking-soda solutions."My curiosity and questioning nature sparked my love of science," she said in her submission.She said she was delighted that her experiment used no chemicals and was made entirely out of waste products.The Google Fair invites young minds to say how they can make the world better through science, maths and engineering. Entries came from 107 countries.Kiara will find out on August 11 if she has made it to the final 16. ..