Karen L. Veverica Dept of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures Auburn

Karen L.
Veverica
Dept of Fisheries
and Allied
Aquacultures
Auburn
University
Alabama
Dr Nelly Isyagi
Aquaculture
Management
Consultants,
LTD, Uganda
Talking points
 How I got into aquaculture in developing countries-
since 1976.
 A series of firsts…. Even though I didn’t know it.
 My first woman counterpart in 1984.
 Some of my mentors
 mechanics, electronics from my dad
 Dr Boyd’s course notes
 Randell and Mr Black at the AU station
 Several people behind the scenes
 Dr Shell and Moss- let a “girl” go overseas for Auburn
33 years in Aquaculture; 20 years in Africa
Why aquaculture?
 Cameroon (Peace Corps)
 US (Oregon; Alabama)
 Rwanda (5 years single+ 5 yrs married)
 Auburn
 Kenya
 Auburn
 Uganda
 Auburn +Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Namibia,
Ethiopia, Uganda
Talking points……
 Why I like working in Africa
 More challenging
 Sub-saharan Africa is very accepting of women
 You can make a big difference in people’s lives
 It is good for my children to live outside the US
 Is it any different for women working in development?
 Well, maybe in terms of family
 You can mentor many women as well
 Some advice
 Learn a LOT about everything; know more than 1 language
 Do not stay over too long at a time
 Do not worry about discrimination- it is not your problem
 Be truthful to yourself; truly develop others’ capacity
 Lead by example
First began working in hatcheries
Women in hatcheries are becoming very common
They work in pond culture as well
They work on cage culture farms.
They build ponds
They own farms
They are processors
Nigeria
Ghana
Dr Nelly, Uganda
Former head of station, former national researcher
They are high-level administrators
Betty Nyandat, Head of Aquaculture, Kenya
They are mothers…
Women are the main
educators of their
children and the best
way to teach a new
skill is to start with
children.
Pretty soon, we will need a special session on
“Men in Aquaculture”