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.
The Global Water Partnership (GWP) is recruiting a Programme Management Officer to be based at the global secretariat in Stockholm, Sweden.
The Regional Coordinator, Mr. Dam MOGBANTE and Network Officer, mr. Manuel FULCHIRON made a mission in Accra, Ghana where they met with the regional office for Africa of the UN Food and Agriculture organization (FAO). The meeting aimed at informing and trying to secure partnership for the nexus « food security, water, food and ecosystem ». GWP shared its experience in particular on the country dialogs undertaken in 2015 in the context of the UN CFS work stream on water and food security as well as the envisaged follow up on water and food security in Africa.