BORDA at FSM5
The Fifth Faecal Sludge Management Conference (FSM5), co-convened with AfricaSan5, took place from 18 to 22 February 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa, and again saw more than 1,500 experts in attendance from all over the world. BORDA as one of the conference conveners shared a large booth with SuSanA, giz, INNOQUA and the AIT testing centre. It was a perfect point of contact and a great learning experience for us to see how the rapidly growing FSM sector in Africa is taking shape.
New FSM Alliance
Now is the time when FSM needs a crucial boost on all levels, and thus the conference participants agreed to form a new FSM Alliance to boost fundraising, political commitment and technical innovations. BORDA will host the FSM Alliance secretary for the next three years.
Pit Latrine Emptying Challenge
Without a doubt, the FSM5 event with the biggest fun factor was the pit latrine emptying challenge, a thrilling competition between young emptiers from several African countries that required speed, accuracy, knowledge, and teamwork. Of course, the challenge has a serious background. The sanitation sector, particularly in Africa, needs young people who are ready to start a career in the shit business. That’s not a joke: You can make a career in sanitation, as a start-up entrepreneur, as an emptier, as an engineer, as a social worker. And you can contribute to overcoming one of the biggest global challenges – the lack of safely managed sanitation – that causes 1,500 deaths every day.
