Oh, that’s an easy question – it is when I call or visit a site and see the excitement that people have, how grateful they are with their water, and seeing people having clean water to drink. Some people have started food gardens to support themselves. Its knowing that with a pump installed the community, many people will be saved from disease and the long walks to collect water.  Children will be in class more rather than spending time collecting water. That for me is the best part of my job, looking at the difference we are making.

As a programme assistant, I am responsible for creating and managing records related to the installation and maintenance of the pumps. I liaise with installers to provide the information they need and to set up maintenance deadlines.  I also work schools and communities regarding their pumps. The communities submit forms with all the important information and I put that information into a spreadsheet, and keep up with the maintenance records too.  The communities will contact me if there is a problem and I make sure the pumps are working properly.  I also monitor media and websites related to our mission, contribute to the upkeep of the Water for All website, and help create donor reports as needed.

In November 2007, I was a City Year service leader and it was just a few days before our graduation.  Jill Rademacher from Water For All told our service manager that the organization was offering an internship. He spoke to me about it and at first I wasn’t sure.  Although I have worked with different organizations before, I had not worked with one that deals with water. So I decided I would take the challenge and here I am in my second year with the organization.

I had part-time jobs when I was still at high school and participated in other community organizations that were formed around in my community.  My real break came when I was matriculating from high school and I applied for City Year South Africa. I worked there as a full time service leader for two years before joining Water for All.

I make sure I spend enough time with my daughter, who is 10 months old.  We live with my grandmother.  Family time is very important to me, so I make sure I get to spend time with the rest of my family, too.   When I have time to myself, I prefer to stay indoors with a good book or watch a good movie at the cinema with friends.  I also enjoyed visiting orphanage homes just to spend some time with other kids but feel bad that I haven’t had time to visit one in a long time.

I started primary school in Soweto but because at that time there were still a lot of oppression and violence my mother decided to move us to live and attend school in a very disadvantaged community called Thembelihle, in Lenasia, just south of Johannesburg. That is where my love for helping people started. I was lucky enough that even though I had a single mother, she made sure there was always food on the table for me and my brother, but not everyone was that lucky.  We at least had running water in our home.

Before joining Water For All, I was clueless about the water problems around the world and took for granted the running and clean water I get every day. Now that I am part of this organization it has been an eye opener. I imagine if 1.1 million people in developing countries are without access to clean water, the hours spend collecting water from far areas and in most of those areas the water is not even good for human consumption, imagine how many children lose out at school, especially girls because they have to collect water for their families and the diseases people get from drinking contaminated water.  With every pump donated to a community or school by Water For All, imagine what a difference that is making to those people. I feel fortunate to be part of this kind of organization. I think it is time that people realize the difficulties that some people face or go through each and every day.

South Africa has come a long way from an apartheid era into a democratic country. This year we have had our third democratic election and a new president has been elected. The most important thing to me is service delivery and that people’s needs are met and promises are fulfilled. I am proud to be a South African.  Not all the African countries that were colonized or oppressed have managed to build such a country like our country. More and more opportunities are opening for South Africans now.

South Africa in one of the diverse countries I know and that is why we call ourselves a rainbow nation. The cultures and beliefs might be different but we are all the same. We embrace each other’s cultures and respect it. That is why South Africa has 11 official languages.

We are looking forward to hosting the World Cup in 2010 and I think that will make our economy even stronger. The World Cup preparation has created employment for many people, with all the construction that is happening at the moment.

The current generation has worked so very hard to be where they are now and I admire them for that, they have fought for us to be where we are now. We can’t expect them to change everything now but need to understand that things cannot be achieved in one day.  It will take time.  I think what our generation should do is to learn from our current leaders, not criticize them, but look at their mistakes and achievements and work towards that. I would say yes I think we will do things differently because we would have learned from them. They have created opportunities for us and have advanced education for more people.  We have access to everything, all thanks to them.  I think that is what we should be grateful for.