GWP Eastern Africa was constituted in 2003 by stakeholders to support the sustainable development and management of water resources at all levels in the region. It focuses on achieving the vision, mission and strategic goals of GWP global through approved workplans and budgets. It is based in Entebbe, Uganda.
One of GWPEA key partners to convey its messages and reach out to various stakeholders is the media. GWPEA values its crucial role and is constantly engaged in media relation initiatives, building the capacity of media practitioners and journalists to pick interest in water and climate change reporting so that there is an increase in number and quality of related stories in the media.
Name: Maria Amakali
Occupation: Director of Water Resources Management
Country: Namibia
Country of Work: Namibia and SADC
What would you say are the main challenges in your work as a woman?
I started working as hydrologist in the Department of Water Affairs in the early nineties. I had studied in the US and was ready to come and work in a newly independent Namibia. My responsibilities included planning and execution of research and investigations regarding sustainable development of water resources; and providing advice on the effective utilization, protection and conservation of such resources. At a time I found a lot of males, in the department. Except for the two women scientist in Hydrology Division, most women were doing mostly secretarial or office administrative work. I remember one day standing outside, waiting for my ride home and this man came to me asking whose secretary I was. In an independent Namibia, I was quite shocked that the old stereotype mentality that women can only be secretaries still exists. Those days there were not many women or black hydrologists, but I was still offended.
Two missions of the secretariat were undertaken in Niger and Burkina to follow up on the recommendations of the audit report for 2014 and to see how ta carry out projects both wth the Dori and Tera municipalitie in Burkina and Niger.
The finance and Mekrou project managers went in Niamey on 12 and 16 April 2015 to work with the Niger CWP and host institution Eau Vive on the recommendations contained in the 2014 audit report on the implementation of the Mekrou project in Niger.
The series of themed water discussion under the “Water Salon” has been designed and prepared since October of last year. The first activity was held on May 11, 2015 in Beijing. Water Salon is organized by GWP China and its three regional partners, including the World Resources Institute (WRI) China, the WWF China and the IUCN China.
GWP-Med, along with partner organisation Lions' Club, is coordinating a national campaign in Tunisian primary schools for awareness raising with regards to water scarcity and the importance of water saving, during the month of February. The campaign is called ÔVI (eau=vie / water=life) and is taking place within the framework of the activity "La Jeunesse Francophone pour l'eau" [Francophone Youth for Water], jointly held by the Global Water Partnership (GWP) and the Office Franco-Québécois pour la Jeunesse (OFQJ), as well as the BeWater Project and the work it does on raising the Tunisian youth's voice on water resources management.
In preparation for a Youth Engagement Strategy, GWP consulted one of its Partner organisations: the Water Youth Network (WYN). The Strategy was launched in Stockholm on 25 August 2015. Some WYN voices were captured in a video connected to this event.
GWP and four of its partner institutions are organising a joint training on International Water Law (IWL) in Africa. The training will take place in Kampala, Uganda, 5-12 June 2016. It is open for up to 40 participants, and funding is available for 30 African-based participants.
A team of GWP-WA and CWP Burkina PNE had on June 11, 2015 a visit to assess the level of implementation of work on the site of the WACDEP demonstration project in Burkina Faso. This project involves the drip irrigation techniques for the efficient management of agricultural water for the benefit of vulnerable populations in the municipality of Loumbila in the center of the country.
Since the last visit in April 2015 there has been plowing work, the installation of some drip irrigation and water pumping equipment with solar energy, among others.
In September, the United Nations will finalise a Post-2015 Development Agenda known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs follow and expand on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which expire at the end of the year and will be “the global community’s plan of action” for all dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental) for the next fifteen (15) years.