Former footballer and scientist Koleka Makanda wants to teach people about the importance of water preservation. Makanda, 38, believes education on water is not only important to this generation but also to future generations.
“If we don’t play the part now, we are all going to suffer in the future because water is life and we cannot live without it. Many people take water for granted and in some communities it’s so easy for people to just dump waste in rivers and dams without thinking of the effects that it has down the line,” said Makanda.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2009 and was awarded a bursary by the department of water and sanitation in 2010 while pursuing a postgraduate diploma in integrated water resource management at the University of the Western Cape [UWC].Makanda is now in her final year to completing her PhD in environmental and water sciences.
“I work for a directorate that focuses on water resource protection. We prevent water users from misusing water resources and we set protection limits,” she said. Makanda has published three research papers.
“My papers have received numerous attention from the international community, some often referencing my work in their studies. I have also been invited to many international conferences but due to finances could never really attend but I’m hoping to change that so on.”
Makanda said football and science are part of who she is. “Football is my absolute love. In the past, there were no leagues for women and they didn’t really earn much for playing soccer, so I couldn’t make it my career but it’s still a very huge part of my life.”
Though born in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni, Makanda spent most of her life moving between the Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu-Natal with her family. “I was in boarding school, and so I didn’t really have the township experience. My parents threw me right into the deep end. It was a Catholic school, so you could only do two things, church and study.”
She said being the only girl in a family of three boys, there were always soccer balls lying around in the house.
“My father was a soccer fanatic. The first time I played with the ball was at the age of 10 and playing around with one of his balls. He came out and then started showing me how to kick properly and do tricks and by the age of 13, I considered myself a pro.”
She started at UWC in 2003 with an interest in dentistry but soon realised how much it wasn’t her. She said though she focused on her studies, she was still following her passion for soccer.
“I still consider football as my career and it’s something I loved then and love now. I played for the varsity team and then for the provincial team and then eventually for the national team through University Sports SA in 2008.
“Playing in Serbia and Thailand was a wonderful experience. It was the first time I was out of the country, and it taught me to adapt to different environments.” She said her parents were her biggest supporters, especially her father.
“…one time I didn’t have proper shoes to play with and I called home and he showed up at school with new shoes.”
