One of the most significant events in 2009 for the Gender and Water Alliance was the Workshop and Study Tour on Gender, Water, Sanitation and Good Governance, for a group of dignitaries from Nigeria. From four states of Nigeria, the Wives of the Governors (or First Ladies) and a Queen, with their WATSAN teams, came to the Netherlands to develop State Gender Action Plans for water and sanitation management in their state, reflecting better understanding of accountability, integrity, transparency, participation and similar important aspects. The First Lady of Nigeria, who is also very interested in improving the sanitation of the poor women in the country, unfortunately was unable to come.

The workshop focused on the governance aspect of sanitation and water supply, and what can be done in states with different cultures and ecological situations. The First Ladies are GWA Ambassadors, and each of them showed an impressive film of their activities in the field. The fieldtrip went to Schokland, now a little hill in a polder (a low-lying piece of land protected by dykes), but once an island in the sea, where people were very poor and depended on regular government subsidies. The government evacuated the people and resettled them on the main land, supporting them to empower themselves. This event 150 years ago was for the Nigerian Ambassador an important lesson for present-day Nigeria. She was impressed to see that sons and daughters of poor labourers are now well-off farmers, taking their chance when they saw it, and working hard for their futures.

Joke Muylwijk, Executive Director, Gender and Water Alliance, e-mail

Tags: africa, capacity development, gender, governance, policies & legislation, transparency, water and livelihoods