Voice Project Officer, Oxfam Novib

Contact: oumaima.ouaissa@voice.global

Oumaima joined the Voice coordination team as a project officer based in The Hague after completing her Master’s in Environment and Resource Management at the Free University of Amsterdam. She is interested in climate change-related issues in the Eastern part of Africa. During her master’s degree, she chose the specialisation of Global Water Challenges. She soon realised that water challenges are more than just drinking water-related. Water problems can be gendered in nature. For example, little account is taken of the needs of women and girls worldwide regarding water supplies and hygiene, even in humanitarian settings. Also, cultural gender norms limit access to many services for women and girls, such as access to school, because they are responsible and spend hours fetching water. Oumaima, therefore, wants to stand up for these girls and ensure that they have access to basic services such as education and hygiene products. Although she joins the extension phase of Voice, she is extremely motivated and energetic to learn a lot about the previously implemented projects and hopes to support the global coordination teams as much as possible.