Austin Kambalame - an Irrigation Engineer At Work
Austin was supported by FOCHTA in his secondary school education. Afterwards, he was supported by an Australian friend of FOCHTA to study and later graduated in B Sc - Irrigation Engineering. Austin initially obtained a job with a leading local irrigation and water company, but has since moved on to work as senior irrigation agronomist at the Mulanje District Irrigation Office, a government body.
Austin says that he finds the work very interesting as it is mostly fieldwork that he enjoys very much. His duties include planning of irrigation developments in the district, irrigation infrastructure construction supervision, conducting farmer capacity building in irrigation scheme operation and maintenance, irrigation water management, etc.
In his spare time, Austin likes to play football, reading and visiting nature conservation sites. Austin said that he wants to mentor FOCHTA beneficiaries. It is his wish to motivate young people to be able to finish with their education. He said “ I am ready to contribute financially so that they will be able to be benefitted, as was granted to me before”.