Alumni Award Winner: Nobody is safe until we all are safe
From a childhood in which she walked long distances in search of water and had no access to a proper toilet, to being celebrated as the 2022 IHE Delft Institute for Water Education Alumni Award winner – Joy Nyawira Riungu has made a remarkable journey, propelled by her strong determination and her passion for education. There’s no doubt that more achievements are ahead for her.
Riungu, from Kenya, received the IHE Delft Alumni Award 2022 from Rector Eddy Moors at the 2 November event that opened the IHE Delft academic year. The award is given annually to an IHE Delft graduate who has made a significant impact in the water or related sector.
She began playing a pivotal role in developing the sanitation capacity in Kenya even before she was awarded with her doctoral degree in 2021. She has incorporated sanitation in Kenyan academia with the development of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) curricula and the establishment of the Sanitation Research Institute at Meru University of Science and Technology, where she currently serves as the director.
“I’m very excited to receive this award. To me it is a reminder that whatever little things you do have an impact, so I will always try and be a hummingbird,” she said in a reference to Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai’s story on the importance of using whatever power you have to make a difference.
An enormous challenge
“The challenge of sanitation is enormous, but if you start small, you will get somewhere,” said Riungu, who grew up in a remote village in the Meru District of Kenya, with sanitation challenges pervading her education, health and social life.
“We walked a minimum of 10kms every day in search of water, and defecated in open-pit latrines with no provision for even washing our hands,” she said. Determined to improve the situation for the generations to come, she pursued an extensive education in the WASH field with a focus on underprivileged populations in Kiberia and Mukuru settlements in Kenya.
During her undergraduate studies, she grew interested in researching the effects of aeration on degradation of solid organic waste. However, despite having first-hand experience of sanitation challenges and an engineering degree under her belt, she was filled with doubt: “As a woman in a male-dominated field, I questioned myself.” Thankfully, she persevered.
Journey at IHE Delft
On an ordinary spring evening, Riungu stumbled upon a call for PhD candidates for Water and Sanitation Engineering by IHE Delft. Overnight, she put together a proposal that got selected. She them made the very tough decision of leaving her 5-year-old son behind in Kenya with her mother.
“I had no connections, but I had focus and I believed I could do it,” she said.
Throughout it all, she looked out for local communities, ensuring that they agreed with proposed services.
“One of the biggest lessons I have learned is the value of native knowledges and the importance of including local communities in all planning, especially sanitation,” she said.
As she awaited her PhD defense, Riungu started a Sanitation program at Meru University. With a capacity strengthening grant from IHE Delft, she went on to launch several MSc Programme and diplomas and financed scholarships for 108 MSc Sanitation students.
In April 2022, she was appointed as lead expert from Kenya in implementation of the African Water Association (AfWA) project on Strengthening AfWA Operators’ capacity for the implementation of city-wide inclusive sanitation in Africa’’ (AfWA’s SAO-CWIS). This reflects the influence she now wields in her field: “Education gave me a voice, a chance to influence policy,” she said.
One of the biggest lessons I have learned is the value of native knowledges and the importance of including local communities in all planning, especially sanitation
We need people who can talk shit
“Water is and has always been a collective issue, but when it comes to sanitation, due to cultural stigmas it is often made an individual issue – but we really need people who can talk shit,” Riungu said, highlighting issues that often undermine progress, and not just in sanitation. “You cannot talk water without sanitation.”
As she develops curricula and facilities to train young professionals in the field of sanitation, she is concerned with the limited job opportunities – and sees this as a challenge to tackle in the future. “In a few years, I would like to work for the water and infrastructure ministry in Kenya, to see how I can create better opportunities for these young professionals,” she said.
In the meantime, she offers guidance to those who seek to follow her example and make a positive impact. She has founded an organization, ‘Women Beyond Science’ that offers mentoring to youth, women and girls, and she works to promote the well-being of underprivileged girls and women.
“My advice to young professionals is to believe in themselves, to understand that they have been chosen to do God’s work to improve the quality of life for their communities,” she said. “Remember nobody is safe until we are all safe.”