Dear all

thank you for your kind and encouraging words,...
and it is a great pleasure to know you and work with you over the last years.

or pose for a photography as Miss World Toilet

Dear FH, although we never met, i also see you are very active . i follow the country's sanitation and MHM mission through your posts and other pakistani colleagues, but currently there are no work plans for pakistan.

all the best,

Dear Ina,

Congratulations to you on becoming the featured user of this forum. The interview details enabled me to know more about you. You have an impressive list of employers and, you have done a lot of work in the field. You say, you are currently working in India and Kenya on sanitation, hygiene and MHM. These things are highly needed in Pakistan. Do you have any plans of working in Pakistan?

I'm truly impressed by your achievements. Good luck in your future endeavors!

Regards,

F H Mughal

Congratulation Ina,

many things have been said already before my message, I would thank her for her contribution to increase the toilet coverage in the world: Miss World Toilet - Ina Patricia Jurga.

All the best for the future,

Heinz-Peter
University of Science and Technology Beijing

Great to read about you Ina and nice to know that you were also an intern at the GIZ ecosan programme (SV NASA) (something we have in common too). Congratulations for your hard work on awareness raising and MHM. Looking forward to hearing more about you and your work in the future.

Best regards,

Doreen

Dear Ina,

Wonderful to read about you as a featured user of the SuSanA forum. I got to know you even better now! I wish I would have time to be more active on this forum but my new network www.siani.se keeps me very busy. I really try to keep following the development of one of my favorite topics; Menstruation Management as closely as I possible can.

Therefore, I really would like to congratulate for all the hard work and unique dedication you put into making the Global Menstruation Day a real success. Very interesting for me was that while the world was raising and recognizing menstruation management and its importance for empowerment, education etc. I was attending an interesting discussion on reproductive health and sanitation at Sida. Sida invited sanitation professionals and maternal& child health professional to discuss the scope for developing a challenge fund on maternal/ reproductive health and sanitation.
Quite an interesting task for all involved.

The very obvious connection that we sanitation professionals can see between reproductive health and sanitation would be menstruation management, however for the health specialists this was not as obvious. For me this discussion was an important eye opener making me understand that we really need to talk much more with people that are not directly involved with sanitation but affected in their work by the lack of sanitation. We are still working so much in silos. Integration is a key for solving some challenges not least menstruation management and sanitation. There is really so much more advocacy and capacity development to do and I am really happy that you have seen the value and importance of the soft hardcore side of sanitation.

Cheers,
Madeleine

Congratulations, Ina! And congratulations to your employer, WASH United, for picking soccer to convey the message and to raise awareness for water, sanitation and hygiene!

Many of us witnessed the power of soccer to energise people and to unite them last night when Germany won the World Cup! If only the same could happen if the world came together to really solve our big problems.

I remember 4 years ago in Germany WASH United had an advertising campaign in Germany where you used photos of Sebastian Schweinsteiger and others to raise awareness. At the time, the focus was on the human rights approach to water and sanitation.

So I couldn't resist, quickly dug through the SuSanA Flickr acccount and found this photo from four years ago of Germany's soccer star Sebastian Schweinsteiger posing in the WASH United shirt for this campaign!

Children posing with a poster of soccer superstar (now World Champion) Sebastian Schweinsteiger for human rights to water and sanitation (WASH United) - Oct. 2010 by Sustainable sanitation , on Flickr

To win a world cup, and to see real change in sanitation behaviour, you need to be patient! But I think you picked the right person back then for your campaign.

Greetings,
Elisabeth

Here comes Part 2 of the interview with Ina Jurga, our featured user of July:

Part 2: About Ina’s opinions about the forum

What is making you write on the forum? How have you benefited yourself from using the forum?

The forum works for me in both ways.

• I try to contribute with knowledge or announcement, mostly in the areas of WASH in schools and MHM (menstrual hygiene management), because I know the forum reaches many people instantly.
• And also I use it if I have specific questions. For this I benefitted from good feedback or information provided by other users.

Do your colleagues or people in your network also use the forum?

Yes, some of my colleagues do , some not


What don’t you like about the forum or about other forum users?

• Somewhat that the BMGF grantees (like WASH United) are a bit hidden because they are filed under Science and Technology while I would rather sometimes look under sanitation systems
• Sometimes posts seem to have been mostly commented by moderators only (however, they have the expertise and networks to answer this to high quality, but sometimes I wish more interaction from users).

If you could change something about the forum, what would it be?

• The working groups seem to be a bit hidden on the forum.
• What about special topic weeks, organized by the moderators, to boost attendance or to draw attention to a specific topic (we did this via a twitter chat on MHM in May 2014. You can see the tweets on this topic by looking for the hashtag #MenstruationMatters ).
• I am not so sure if there would be benefits to not so sure how to link up with different to the LinkedIn Groups on WASH (such as Community of Practice on Sanitation and Hygiene)?

What is your advice to the forum moderators?

• Some posts are really lengthy. If I am visiting the forum, for which I maybe block 30 min per week, I don’t have so much time to read lengthy comments.
• I really appreciate that the moderators try to pull in people if they know those would make a good contribution to a topic or post! But bear in mind that sometimes the user’s time doesn’t permit this.
• I also like the current discussions: I would also say a good quantity and quality of posts is essential for me and many others to visit the forum - if that is not provided, it will also not interest me that often to visit the forum.

Which topics or categories on the forum do you feel most passionate about?

Obviously MHM and WASH in Schools, but I also look if there is something around behavior change or countries that I worked in, which I can contribute to.




++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thanks a lot, Ina, for taking the time to answer our questions, and congratulations on this award! It's nice to know a bit more about you via this interview.

Does anyone have any questions or comments for Ina? Have any of her posts had an impact on you or made you think differently about certain topics?


[posted by Sebastian Klos and Elisabeth von Muench on behalf of the SuSanA Secretariat]

Here comes Part 1 of the interview questions that Ina answered for us so that we can all get to know her better:

+++++++++++++++

Part 1: About Ina as a person and her work

You registered with SuSanA on 9 Dec 2011 which is half a year after the forum started. What made you register then?

I do love sharing and networking ! There is such lot of implicit knowledge on sanitation and hygiene around the world - and through forums such as SuSanA the wheel (or shall I say the toilet ?) might not be “re-invented” all the time, and knowledge often needs to be connected and facilitated!

For this the SuSanA forum is doing an excellent job connecting senior experts but also newcomers, exchanging on critical issues and research questions.


What is your nationality and where are you living right now?

I am German, and after years of working abroad I am now back since 2 years living and working in Germany, in the fantastic city of Berlin.


Where and what did you study, and why?

I studied civil engineering at University Essen, with a focus on waste and wastewater management. I always wanted to work abroad, and did this quite independently through my internship at GTZ (now GIZ) ecosan programme. I was lucky that my former professor Dr. Geiger, and team member Dr. Zifu Li – with whom I am still in close contact – also worked on a greywater re-use project in Beijing, so it fitted somehow.


What were your main employers, work locations or career milestones?

I started working on ecological sanitation (ecosan) back in 2002, through my first internship at GTZ (now GIZ) with Heinz-Peter Mang and Christine Werner. The internship with GTZ ecosan in 2002 really paved the way for my 12-year long sanitation world tour. I starte as a junior “integrated expert” in China (as part of a German government funded programme) working together with Heinz-Peter Mang for the Institute of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Here you see some of my early work on ecosan and biogas in China which is in the SuSanA library:

Gallinat, B., Jurga, I. (2002). Application of Closed-Loop Sanitation Approaches in the Township of Yang Song. Baseline-Study. (in Chinese). Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), Eschborn, Germany.
susana.org/lang-en/library?view=ccbktypeitem&type=2&id=816

Mang, H.-P., Jurga, I. (2005). Biogas Sanitation Systems. IEEP.
susana.org/lang-en/library?view=ccbktypeitem&type=2&id=529

Then I moved on to German Development Service (ex-DED, now also part of GIZ) in Uganda as technical expert for ecological sanitation and later also as coordinator for WASH and renewable energy.

Comment by Elisabeth: Here she took this important photo which has been used by many people to illustrate the sanitation crisis in developing countries. It is currently the number 4 photo in terms of views (7,400 views, 8 comments) from the 10,000 odd photos in the SuSanA flickr database; for this she received a little award earlier in the year :

Child in slum in Kampala (Uganda) next to open sewage by Sustainable sanitation , on Flickr

After that came a 6-months consultancy in DPR Korea (yes, that’s North Korea) for UNICEF on DEWATS and rural sanitation, a brief consultancy in China, and then followed by 2 years in Geneva working for the Water and Sanitation Collaborative Council as technical officer for Networking & Knowledge Management.

Gradually I moved away from the hardware to software aspect of sanitation and hygiene, realizing the importance of behavior change and attitudes of users. What stayed the same was the networking.

A photo from my time at WSSCC:

Ina Jurga about WASH knowledge networks, work conducted at WSSCC by Sustainable sanitation , on Flickr

Edit by Elisabeth: Background paper for her presentation on Global WASH Network Mapping at the 10th SuSanA meeting when she worked for WSSCC:
www.susana.org/images/documents/04-meeti...-wsscc-ina-jurga.pdf


Where do you work now and what does your organization do? How is it funded?

I work for WASH United in Germany as head of WASH in schools (www.wash-united.org). WASH United is an award-winning Berlin-based international social impact organization that uses the power of sports superstars, interactive games and positive communication to promote safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for all. WASH United currently works mainly in East Africa and India but it also includes work with partners in Lesotho (TED) and recently for the cricket WorldCup in Bangladesh. We are currently funded through various donors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, German Foreign Office, and via some other partnerships.

I have written here on the forum about some of WASH-United's work that I am involved in in four countries (Uganda Ethiopia, Lesotho and Kenya) which was co-funded by the BMGF:
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/97-ena...ia-lesotho-and-kenya

In my current position, I work with my team in India and Kenya to develop and implement our fun and game based training curricula for sanitation and hygiene and menstrual hygiene management (MHM).

Last year we and a few partners started a call to make 28 May Menstrual Hygiene Day (MH Day). And that’s what kept me busy the last months. The first ever MH Day on 28 May 2014 has seen a real momentum: it was supported by more than 155 partners and many individuals, and celebrated in 55 events in 39 countries. There was great media coverage, in local and international media, such as Guardian, Huffington post and particularly on Social media. Really amazing.
(see Twitter hashtag #MenstruationMatters )

Ah, and I am also involved in lots of campaigns, leading WASH United’s work in Monitoring & Evaluation, partnerships and I am the focal person for the India team.

See more:
www.wash-united.org
www.menstrualhygieneday.org

This photo is from a recent MHM training in Bangladesh and what I love about the picture is that one can see how much fun our trainings could be. We spent a really good time with the girls from the tea garden areas in Sylhet even outside the stadiums, and are grateful for all their questions and trust:




And this photo is from a WASH in Schools training in 2013 with YES in Busia, in Uganda. I have worked with them on ecosan toilets from 2007-9 and now again with WASH United.- This is a highly committed small NGO driven by youth population in Busia - who really mobilize the entire town:




What would you recommend to youngsters from countries in the global North who want to get involved in development work – how should they go about it? And does it even make sense?

Whether development work is a right approach in general, I think most of the users here are familiar with different discussions from their own work experience (here is a good summary www.developmenteducation.ie/8020-extract...he-debate-on-aid.pdf). So very much up to everyone to choose sides.

If you really, truely want to get involved, you will make it. Get enough “dirty” field experience before you start working in headquarters! So, don’t shy away from poorly-paid internships. Find a good mentor (I was lucky to have great ones!). And listen carefully to local experts, be respectful to local cultures and try to keep flexibility and a good humor. Then you can have a rewarding job and life-experience.


What three things would you take to a remote island? Or what are the three “things” that are really important for you in practical terms?

• Books (or all placed on a kindle with endless energy supply)
• An internet dongle – I just love to remain connected with friends and music
• And if there are waves on the remote island: also a surfboard

What books or magazines can be found on your bedside table?

There are at least 2 books I read in parallel: a non-fiction work, currently it is Bill Bryson “at Home”, and crime novel for the evening (according to a German song: “ohne Krimi geht die Mimi nie ins Bett!”).
In addition, I am collecting graphic novels / comics.


What are your hobbies?

Travelling, drinking & eating with my friends , in summer some sports (longboarding, surfing, biking) and in winter it is craft time. And my official hobby is to host friends for weekends in Berlin.

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Part 2 of the interview (about Ina's opinions of the forum) will be posted early next week.


[posted by Elisabeth and Sebastian on behalf of the SuSanA Secretariat]

Dear all,

We are happy to announce our next Featured User today:

Her name is Ina Jurga and she is from Germany.

Here's a link to her profile and posts: forum.susana.org/forum/profile/userid-1387

Ina joined the SuSanA Forum in December 2011 with registration number 1387. Ina regularly contributes to topics on Menstrual Hygiene Management, handwashing, behaviour change, WASH in schools, educational games, upcoming WASH awareness raising events and using social media campaigns. Based in Berlin after years of international experience, she is now working with WASH United, a partner organisation of SuSanA.

Ina's posts are always worth reading, they are thoughtful, detailed and full of enthusiasm, especially for the "difficult" topic of menstrual hygiene management which - thanks to people like Ina - is now fast becoming an "easier" topic, some even say a fad of the day in development cooperation or at least in the WASH sector in development cooperation. Who would have thought? What a great development to lift some of these taboos around sanitation topics!

The statistics for Ina’s posts show that whilst she has made "only" 48 posts so far (putting her in 28th position in terms of number of posts), she has received 10 Karma points so far (putting her in 10th position) as well as 29 Likes for her posts (13th position), see forum.susana.org/forum/categories/userlist .

Ina is currently working in Berlin, Germany, which is located at the red marker on the map below:


Some visual impressions of Ina and her work so that you can get to know her better:

• You can watch her giving a presentation about WASH United's work at a design conference in Amsterdam in 2012 "What design can do" in a TED style talk:

• Ina is a long-term active member in SuSanA (initially active in working group 3 with her biogas expertise, later in working group 9 with her expertise on awareness raising), and here you can see her at a SuSanA meeting in 2010 in Stockholm (front row):

Participants at 12th SuSanA meeting, Ina Jurga in front row by Sustainable sanitation , on Flickr

The last photo in this post is also a typical Ina photo: she is not shy to shake hands with VIPs in the interest of campaigning for WASH! You see her here showing the WASH United 3-finger sign (for water, sanitation & hygiene) with the former Indian Minister of Rural Development, Jairam Ramesh. Ina's explanation of the photo: This picture is from the Nirmal Bharat Yatra - the sanitation and hygiene campaign that was fully endorsed by him. He released a very controversial statement on the Yatra "I think toilets are more important than temples. No matter how many temples we go, we are not going to get salvation. We need to give priority to the toilets and cleanliness." The Nirmal Bharat Yatra was a sanitation & hygiene awareness & behavior change campaign conceptualised & implemented by WASH United & Quicksand. It travelled 2,000 kms across rural parts of 5 Indian states between 2nd October 2012 & 19th November 2012.

Untitled by Non Profit Social Innovation Firm , on Flickr


In the next post we will bring to you Part 1 of an interview we did about Ina's background and her work.


Regards,

Elisabeth and Sebastian
on behalf of the SuSanA secretariat