Slum dweller Jockin Arputham wins Sarphati Sanitation Award 2019
Late co-founder and president of Slum Dwellers International, Jockin Arputham has been announced as winner of the Sarphati Sanitation Award for Life Time Achievement 2019. The award will be presented posthumously during the Opening Ceremony of the Amsterdam International Water Week on 4 November.
Protecting poorest of the poor
Jockin Arputham fought for the rights of slum dwellers for over 40 years, going back to the early 1970s when he tried to stop the bulldozing of the settlement in which he lived.
Out of frustration and necessity, Arputham linked with some of Mumbai’s poorest women to stop evictions and improve the slums they were living in. That small group has grown into Slum Dwellers International (SDI), a global grassroots movement of the poorest of the poor.
Today, SDI is present in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, upgrading slums and fighting evictions day in and day out, struggling to build more inclusive cities, economies, and political systems.
Arputham died in October 2018 in Mumbai, India.
Global sanitation challenge
The personal commitment, endeavors and perseverance of Jockin Arputham are absolutely extra ordinary, according to the honorable Jury of the Sarphati awards. This award is a tribute to his merits and achievements in the field of the global sanitation challenge.
After almost 200 years, the spirit of doctor Samuel Sarphati is still very much alive as nominations were received from 26 countries in 5 continents.
Dr. Samuel Sarphati (1813-1866) lived in Amsterdam as a doctor, chemist and city planner, and was committed to radically improve public hygiene in his city. He proved that by moving the waste out of the city and processing it for agricultural purposes, money could be made and sanitation within the city could be drastically improved.
About Sarphati Awards
Aqua for All, World Waternet, and the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) initiated the Sarphati Sanitation Awards in 2013 to recognise and honour contributions to the global sanitation & public health challenges through entrepreneurship.
The awards include two categories:
- Award for Promising Entrepreneur – focusing on groundbreaking entrepreneurial activities in sanitation
- Award for Life Time Achievement, acknowledging individuals who have dedicated a large part of their life to influence decision makers, policy makers and implementers to find sustainable, integrated urban solutions for people worldwide who suffer from inadequate sanitation service, create value out of what was hitherto regarded as waste and thereby improve health.
The presentation of both 2019 awards will take place during the opening ceremony of the Amsterdam International Water Week on 4 November. On 6 November a special Sarphati Sanitation Symposium will take place in Amsterdam.
