A talk by Mark Haviland, co-founder of Train My Generation, that tells the story of a lake, its past and its future, vital not only to Africans but Europeans alike.

The greatest of Africa’s lakes, Lake Victoria has a rich yet troubled history. Serving a population of over 40m, the source of the Nile and hosting the world’s largest freshwater fishery, this lake and its basin are under enormous strain from globalisation, human activity and climate change. In 2020, Mark met Vincent, a resident of Mfangano one of the lake’s 900+ islands, and they together set up a local NGO to help deliver services focused on women’s health, vocational training and eco-restoration. Since then, after several trips and countless local projects, plus a realisation that the lake’s health was declining, they agreed to dedicate the next 30 years of their lives to the lake’s recovery.

 

Today, while continuing to support the community on Mfangano Island, they are planning lake wide expeditions to gather content and research data to inform business leaders and policy makers. In addition, they are forming an alliance of international players to provide the capacity, expertise and finance to see restoration at scale.

Working with local communities and scientific organisations they hope to tell the true, yet optimistic story of the lake and its people, reversing decades old colonial narratives and accelerating the investment required to transform the regional economy, so that it can sustainably serve its millions of dependents.

This is not just an African issue, nor just an environmental cause. The preservation of these massive ecosystems has social, economic and geopolitical implications that only long term, at scale and systems-wide interventions will resolve.

About Mark Haviland

After a corporate career with Disney, CNN then Rakuten, Mark has turned to education and environmental restoration for the next phase of his life. As well as running workshops for schools and business that help young people find purposeful careers, he runs an NGO in East Africa with a 30 year ambition to protect and restore Africa’s largest body of water; Lake Victoria.