A Conversation with Meghna Chakkraborty – Founder of South Asia Young Women in Water Excerpt from the interview:

CWR: As a young water leader, what advice would you give to individuals thinking about joining this space?

Meghna: As someone who works closely with young professionals in South Asia, I can say without hesitation that the biggest challenge they face in the water sector is the lack of career prospects. I’m not going to sugarcoat it! Acknowledging this reality is important because it reflects the true struggles many passionate young professionals endure while still choosing to stay in the field out of sheer dedication.... (Read more in the link mentioned)

Hello All,

I thought to share about considerations for young people planning to join the Sanitation sector in the context of sub-saharan Africa. Zambia from the 2018 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) has recorded:
· 64 per cent of the population use basic drinking water services (87 per cent in urban areas, 49 per cent in rural areas)
· 33 per cent of the population use a basic sanitation service (41 per cent in urban areas, 28 per cent in rural areas)
· 10 per cent of the population practices open defecation (1 per cent in urban areas, 16 per cent in rural areas)
· 24 per cent of the population has access to basic hygiene services, i.e. a handwashing facility with soap and water (36 per cent urban, 15 per cent rural).

Although this study might seem retrospective, not so long ago we noticed that there have been 8,276 cumulative cholera cases, with 333 deaths, and a case fatality rate of 4% which is four times the World Health Organization threshold (U.S Embassy, 2023).These numbers illuminate just how alarming poor water and sanitation have an effect throughout our country.

But in as much as the situation seems gloomy and murky, there is always a glimmer of hope, a light at the end of the tunnel. The sanitation sector is not fully explored probably because it is thought of as being ‘squalid’ or ‘dirty’ but even minerals like diamonds are mined in the filthiest and most godforsaken places. Instead of us youths shying away from the sanitation sector, there lays the utopia that we have been constantly pursuing.

Improved sanitation does not only come with improved health but also various business opportunities like mobile toilets, provision of water, manufacturing of hand and body soaps. As if that is not enough, the sanitation sector also comes with the creation of new jobs and also gathers the attention of foreign donors and leads to more circulation of foreign currencies which will later lead to an improved economy.
 
To borrow the words of Swami Vivekananda, “take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.”[/font]