Women water pioneers provide vital services
WHEN the Covid-19 pandemic broke out last year, our daily lives changed forever in a new world order.
The work environment has been tumultuous for the last 17 months. Many of us could never have imagined the current situation we face across the globe. The pandemic has left an indelible mark on our lives. Women in particular have suffered tremendously, with their careers being decimated by job losses and reduction in pay.
Despite these challenges, phenomenal women have stood the test of time with their resilience. In the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), the likes of Noluyolo Ndaliso, Margo Adonis and Melissa Lintnaar-Strauss are among the women who are, despite the odds, continuing to deliver much-needed water and sanitation services.
Young IT technician “Nolu” Ndaliso was born and raised in Willowvale in the Eastern Cape where she completed her lower and secondary education. Ndaliso attended Walter Sisulu University (Ibika campus in Butterworth) and completed a three-year National
Diploma in ICT (communication networks). She says having a passion for working with computers (software and hardware support; data analysis) led her to her post in IT management development.
Despite the challenges youth face, Ndaliso strongly believes they have the ideas, the creativity and the energy to make the world a better place.
Adonis is a scientific technician at the department. In 2019 she was crowned Ms Earth Ambassador. A component of this competition is the promotion of environmental protection through community engagement.
Adonis continues to excel in many fields and other recent accolades include receiving the Eco Logic Silver Award 2019 – Enviropedia (Eco Warrior Category); being appointed as an advisory board committee member for the CPUT Environmental Management Programme; receiving a Netherlands embassy scholarship to attend the Netherlands Wetskills Water Challenge and represent South Africa at Amsterdam International Water Week 2019; and being shortlisted for the Womandla Foundation Woman in STEAM (science, technology, engineering and maths) Awards 2021.
Lintnaar-Strauss is an accomplished water scientist with a wealth of knowledge. She was born in Ceres where she completed her primary education and attended a secondary school. In the last few years of apartheid, the unrest in the country was very severe and the education system was severely disrupted. In order to finish her matric, she had to leave her home in Ceres. In early 1990s she studied for a BSc in botany and zoology, and obtained an Honours degree in botany and an MSc in botany. She studied at Stellenbosch University. It was difficult to study at the university at that time, but she persevered and worked hard.
Lintnaar-Strauss cut her teeth in the environmental sector before joining the department. She has long been involved with the training and mentoring of young people and has overseen graduate trainees for many years. A lot of her former female mentees are now in management positions in the department and in the Catchment Management Agencies and she is very proud of them.
These are some of the colourful stories of DWS women water pioneers. Daily they brave Covid-19 to keep the flame of service delivery burning. Their sacrifices are to be commended.