Rural Water Supply Specialist to Highlight Capacity-Building

Kerstin Danert is a rural water supply specialist focusing on developing in-country capacity with respect to operation and maintenance, cost-effective borehole drilling, technology adoption and sector performance monitoring. Thus, her expertise comes literally "from the ground up"! We are pleased and excited to have Kerstin as one of our keynote speakers at this year's International WaTER Conference.

Kerstin's work has involved integrating institutional, socio-economic, cultural, political and technical aspects of rural water supply service provision in developing countries. She has provided face to face advisory and capacity development services to national and local Governments, NGOs and the private sector in over 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa as well remote support for many more. Her current email listserve is a treasure-house of good advice from practitioners in the field.

Kerstin lived and worked in Uganda for ten years up to 2008, when she moved to Switzerland to join Skat, an independent Swiss organization, to work in the fields of development and humanitarian aid. Since 2009, she has led the secretariat of the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN), a global network of professionals and practitioners working to develop sustainable rural water supplies.

A survey of 81 WASH experts by the charity navigation website, Philanthropedia, has placed RWSN seventh (7th) in the list of most effective non-profit organizations - and the top network.  "Experts respect RWSN as a forum for discussion for 6,000 water professionals; a setting for knowledge exchange and networking. The RWSN is also useful as a resource that allows its member organizations to view the best practices of peer organizations and adopt them in their own. RWSN also provides guides to its member organizations providing tips regarding development." (from the organization's website: http://rural-water-supply.net/en). We look forward to welcoming Kerstin as an integral part of our Conference.

 WaSH practitioners and local villagers work together to install a pump system and learn how to operate and maintain it.