A candid conversation with our Chief of Purpose
We’ve just announced we’re funding SHOFCO’s newest project, brand new toilets for Mathare, a slum in Nairobi. It’s incredibly exciting, so we wanted to sit down with our Chief of Purpose (and Co-founder), Danny Alexander, to talk about the news and what it could mean for our community and the community in Mathare.
I assume people clamour to get your email address and pitch their projects to you. What made SHOFCO’s work in Mathare feel meaningful?
It's hard to not be inspired by SHOFCO’s work. Kennedy, SHOFCO’s founder, has an amazing vision of how grassroots change can lead to the transformation of entire communities.
We funded some of their early work in Kibera, which is a large slum in Nairobi. In Kibera, where Kennedy's from, they have a really incredible multidisciplinary program that addresses all of the needs of the community from the bottom up. Rather than saying, “We're just going to work in water and sanitation,” or, “We're just going to work in health,” they work on education, on financial services, and so much more. They really try to understand what’s holding the community back and address issues holistically.
“When I visit a place like Mathare, I’m struck by both the need for things like toilets, but also by the optimism and the grit.”
Could you talk a little bit about the changes that have happened in Kibera since SHOFCO’s involvement?
It’s pretty remarkable walking around Kibera – it's impossible not to feel the presence of SHOFCO. They've done a good job of branding themselves with a very distinct blue. Everywhere you go in Kibera, you see blue education centres, blue libraries, blue water points, blue toilets and all sorts of blue things.
I have to say that I love that blue. They picked a really good blue.
It's a great blue. It's very similar to your drink bottle.
Yeah, it's my favourite blue.
And the blue works! You can feel the presence of SHOFCO everywhere and it's pretty remarkable to see the diversity of services they offer. Once you're in one of their programs, you receive a membership card to be part of SHOFCO. That membership card can be used at the health centre, for financial services, for all sorts of other things. Kibera is a community, like many others, that's usually not recognised by the government and official services don't often extend to these unrecognised areas. SHOFCO has essentially created a parallel support system that recognises these people as individuals and offers comprehensive services.
It’s wonderful that they can replicate this model in Mathare. How would you describe Mathare for somebody who has never been?
I don’t want to sugar coat it – it's hard not to be shocked by the challenges. There's sewage flowing through canals. Most houses are constructed of corrugated aluminium or raw timber. There are a lot of basic things that the community doesn’t have and it's visible.
Still, there’s another way to look at it. It's a place where music is blasting, where people are out in the street having a good time. People spend a lot of time with their families outdoors and eating delicious food. When I visit a place like Mathare, I'm struck by both the need for things like toilets, but also by the optimism and the grit. We could learn a lot from them!
We know that toilets can have a huge impact on communities, but they obviously don't solve everything. How do you think about the impact of a toilet in the grand scheme?
I think about a toilet as being one of the fundamental building blocks of development. At the most basic level, sanitation is all about water. Without clean water, you can't live. It's a fact. So there are two ways you can address that. One is bringing clean water in, the other is finding ways of cleaning water within a community.
This is an oversimplification, but essentially bringing toilets into a community ensures people don't have contact with human waste. And by not having contact with human waste, people are able to stay healthier longer and are able to go to school for longer. Their development isn't stunted. They're much more likely to grow into happy, healthy adults. That unlocks all of the potential for the other interventions that are needed.
“At the most basic level, sanitation is all about water. Without clean water, you can’t live.”
I’d say that’s a pretty compelling argument.
Look, if a child isn't able to reach the age of five, education isn't that relevant. Education is much more powerful when you have a student who can go to school. Of course, this is not to diminish the power of education or say it's not worth investing in—it absolutely is! It’s just to point out that access to sanitation is one of the most core human needs that we have.
The stakes are clearly super high, which is what makes projects like these so exciting, but it's also what makes them kind of bittersweet. It's so wonderful to make this huge impact, but it's also sobering to know that there needs to be an intervention for something so basic. How do you navigate that?
I think having space for both celebration and a recognition that there's still more work to be done is key. An important part of the work is to stay optimistic and continue fighting.
What advice might you have for someone who's feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of the situation?
I like looking to my role models. I regularly watch videos of Dr. Martin Luther King when I feel overwhelmed. I know it’s cliche, but by seeing that there are other people or other moments in history that have affected massive change… It gives me hope that it's possible.
What would you say to our customers who helped make this project possible?
You go, girl! Or boy. No matter how you identify – thank you!
What would you say to people who haven’t taken the plunge yet? So to speak...
What are you waiting for? Let’s build more toilets!
Did you ever imagine that this would be your job? That you would know so much about toilets?
No, never. But I totally fell in love with it! It’s such a fascinating mix of everything. There's chemistry, there's physics, there’s design. And then there’s the cultural aspect! I just got back from India, and the way they use toilets is radically different from how we use them here or how they use them in Kenya or in Cambodia or in Germany or in Japan. A community’s cultural relationship with waste is so unique, there is no universal toilet. For a designer, that's fascinating.
OK, final question. Is it true that you took your wife to a sanitation plant on your first date?
It wasn't our first date. It was our wedding anniversary.
