Closing Reflection

I've been thinking about the scope of problems related to sanitation in Kibera and, to be honest, I'm overwhelmed. Every week I discover new issues, complexities, and solutions concerning water and sanitation, thereby gradually developing a slightly more enlightened perspective. On one hand I am learning and forming my own ideas about potential agents for change and action, which is fantastic and was one of my initially stated goals. On the other hand, I feel like as I become aware of each potential improvement described in research I encounter, I also become aware of ten more problems I hadn't even considered before.

I started this blog optimistic that I would form an opinion on how to solve the water problem in Kibera. Clearly it would have been naive to imagine I'd come up with something completely novel and groundbreaking, so I'm not claiming I was supposed to shake the earth with the solution to a multifaceted and multidisciplinary problem that experts have been dedicating their lives to solving for decades. But I was fairly confident that I would feel comfortable taking a firm stance on recommending a pragmatic and articulate course of action to ensure all residents of Kibera have access to clean water. And I don't know if I've achieved that. This isn't a bad thing.

At this point, I feel like I have a superior set of knowledge and critical awareness of sanitation in Kibera than I did eight weeks ago. But perhaps the most valuable thing I realized was how complex sanitation really is.

Before beginning the blog my perception of sanitation was mostly a public sector problem. I figured the government is responsible for providing or regulating the sale of clean water. It seemed if they are holding up their end of the deal residents should be fine. I thought I would be looking into the processes by which political power is negotiated, stakeholders are involved, and corruption somehow interferes. But I was completely wrong. Sanitation transcends the sale and distribution of clean drinking water and is instead deeply ingrained in the health, education, gender politics, and enterprise of a city or settlement.

If I were asked now how to solve the sanitation issue in Kibera, I would suggest that we need to galvanize a culture change around water and sanitation that starts with the residents who are directly affected. We would need to consult expert opinions in fields that range from geography, health ecologies, politics, economics, gender relations, to environmental sustainability. Ultimately, this isn't a change that can happen overnight, as culture changes take a lot of time. Instead we can provide resources that act as bandaids to many problems connected to sanitation, meanwhile working towards the greater culture change through education and community involvement in order to fix the underlying issue the bandaids cover.

At first I felt a little bit defeated by the daunting scale of change that is necessary to ensure access to safe water sustainably, but now I feel hopeful. As an urban studies and fine arts student in my home university, I never would have taken a class about water in Africa. I certainly would not have started a blog about sanitation in Kibera.

After just one semester of applied research and critical exploration I feel excited by opportunities to create change. My professional interests also developed as a result of this blog. I had somewhat written off the possibility of really being able to make a change in issues like sanitation in Kibera outside of a life in academia or politics. It's clear to me now there are ways to contribute to positive change through almost any sector or industry, and there are definitely opportunities to do good while doing well. I hope to find small scale mediations between industry and social change to establish a career that is fulfilling to me as a person who is both interested in business and in social justice.