Pump mechanic Stella Raja helps repair a borehole in her community of Jebel. Credit: Drijaru Vivian

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Female Hand Pump Mechanic Challenges Gender Stereotypes

Stella Raja, 32, is the first female water hand pump mechanic/technician in her community, a profession that was viewed as male domain. Raja works in the Jebel community on the outskirts of Juba on a water pump project supported by USAID.

“As a woman, I was being despised by almost everyone that I could not manage to carry those heavy metals. But they started gaining confidence in me after learning that I really can do it just like any other person in the group,” she said.

Empowering Raja helped change her community’s perception of women and their role in society, as she is now considered a role model for other women and girls.

“We thought we could not do the kind of job Raja is doing as we always thought the work is harder to do and it is associated only with men