Cualquier día, mientras despide a sus hijos a la escuela o prepara la comida para su familia, Maureen podía recibir una llamada de una comunidad de su región. En ese instante, lo dejaba todo, tomaba sus herramientas y se iba en bicicleta.
Maureen es mecánica de bombas manuales y la primera mujer en todo el distrito de Chikwawa, Malawi.
"Cuando empecé a trabajar en este sector, la mayoría de la gente pensaba que no podría hacerlo", comenta Maureen. "Pero siempre he creído en mí misma y he querido asumir un rol más importante en las cuestiones relacionadas con el agua en mi comunidad".
A training Maureen attended about human rights and gender solidified the idea for her that women can do things that society views as only done by men – like being a hand pump mechanic. So when the opportunity came up last year, Maureen attended a hand pump mechanic training facilitated by Water For People and the Chikwawa District Council. Of the 10 mechanics being trained, she was the only woman.
"Pensé que esta era una oportunidad para garantizar que la gente tuviera agua limpia y segura en todo momento", dice Maureen.
To date, Maureen has repaired 13 boreholes in surrounding communities. She knows her job is vital to making sure communities have water that keeps flowing, which is why she drops everything to repair handpumps as soon as she possibly can. Maureen remembers what life was like before her own community received water – women walked long distances to fetch water, and a lack of water and hygiene led to cholera and diarrhea. She’s proud to be doing her part to keep those things from happening again.
A pesar del orgullo que siente por su nuevo rol, a Maureen le ha resultado difícil ser aceptada como mecánica de bombas.
"It is challenging because people are used to seeing men do this job, so it’s not easy to get accepted as a female pump mechanic," Maureen explains. "At first the whole community would come to watch while I fixed water points. They would interrogate me, questioning my ability to fix the borehole."
Maureen ha perseverado, y aunque la gente todavía tiene sus dudas, Maureen está firme en su determinación de involucrar a más mujeres en el tema del agua.
"Es muy importante que las mujeres se encarguen de este trabajo", afirma. "Les da un mayor sentido de pertenencia. Las mujeres están más preocupadas por el agua y más conectadas con ella".
Being a pump mechanic is just Maureen’s initial step. She hopes to someday become a water technician or water monitoring assistant in the District Water and Sanitation Office. With her determination and grit, anything is possible.
