Water woman: Student empowers women at home and abroad

When Tulane University senior Laura Garcia arrived at the Rosa F. Keller Library and Community Center in New Orleans for the first time, it was hard for her to imagine the kind of international impact her work in this temporary local office would have.

Garcia, who studies international development and Latin American studies at Tulane, spent a summer working as a community outreach intern for the New Orleans-based nonprofit organization Mama Maji after being connected with the organization through the Tulane Center for Public Service.

“Mama Maji stands for mother water,” Garcia says. “The organization"s mission is to empower women through water.”

Mama Maji engages in international development, specifically in the Kisumu and Kamronga villages of Kenya. As an organization that fulfills its mission both at home and abroad, its programs are twofold.

“Their mission works worldwide although the water projects are only internationally based,” says Garcia. “The New Orleans side is the first half [of the mission], which is empowering women and helping with professional training to build a network.”

Garcia has worked to create a larger on-campus presence at Tulane for the organization by getting more “student catalysts” involved with Mama Maji and reaching out to various student organizations to host programs.

She helped the organization partner with the university"s Rotaract Club to host a Catalyst Walk in March that raised awareness about “women and the water issue.” The walk raised $10,000 for the nonprofit"s water projects in Kenya.

Garcia feels that her work with Mama Maji has helped her develop the skills she will need as both a graduating senior and a young woman.

“I felt empowered by the end of it, I felt like I grew out of it,” Garcia said. “If a young woman wants to work in international development, I would recommend something like this.”

Samah Ahmed is a first-year student at Tulane University majoring in public health and political science.