USAID/Southern Africa’s Mission Director, Cheryl L. Anderson, celebrated World Water Week by visiting Groot Marico in North West Province with USAID partner, the Marico River Conservation Association (MRCA).

Ms. Anderson remarked that clean rivers and access to high quality water is very important to all of us and that USAID partners with communities throughout Southern Africa to encourage sustainable and fair management of land, water, fisheries and other resources.

The day’s events involved tree identification demonstration, whereby invasive species are identified for removal in order to maintain a healthy environment, followed by a demonstration to pupils at a local Groot Marico school on how to recycle and purify what is known as “Grey Water”. Grey water is water from kitchen sinks and bath tubs which can be reused for flushing toilets and landscape irrigation. Later in the day, there was a visit to the Marico River which has clean, purified water enabled by removal of the Water Hyacinth, an alien weed that clogs waterways.  

USAID's Resilience in the Limpopo River Basin Program (RESILIM) Program seeks to improve the trans-boundary water resource management of the Limpopo River to increase the resilience of communities and ecosystems. The Limpopo River cuts across South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and has the Marico River as one of its tributaries. MRCA is a non-profit organization which has created 360 reliable and recurring job opportunities through conservation along both the Marico and Koster Rivers in the North West Province.