Meet Andiswa Nyongwana, 2022 Mandela Washington Fellow
Andiswa Nyongwana
What motivates you?
About Andiswa Nyongwana
Pronouns: she/hers
Country: South Africa
Occupation: Water and Climate Program Assistant Coordinator
Field: My work is focused on mobilizing climate finance to build climate resilience in the water sector in developing countries. I also run an NGO that supports youth development and I am the co-founder of the South African Youth Parliament for Water
I am motivated by helping other people. In my professional work I am motivated by supporting vulnerable communities to be climate resilient and seeing the outcomes of the support I have provided.
What drew you to your professional field?
I am from a small town where agriculture and forestry are our key economic activities. While growing up I experienced the impacts of climate change in my town. Seeing how climate change negatively affected our livelihoods and natural resources led me to study Agriculture and Climate Change, which has resulted in me working in the water sector on climate resilience.
What is something from your country that you would like to share with the UC Davis community?
One of South Africa’s key investment areas is sustainable environmental initiatives and ensuring that urbanization does not disturb the environment. As a result, Durban was named the greenest city in the world by the Husqvarna Urban Green Space Index (HUGSI) in 2019. Cape Town won the City Nature Challenge in 2019, making Cape Town to be a city with the highest number of plant species in the world.
How would you like to engage with UC Davis and the community here?
I would like to network with community members, university staff and government officials from Davis. I would also like to learn about the community initiatives around Davis and government strategies and action plans.