Angela Huston '06 On How a Systems Approach Can Bring Innovative Practices to Water and Sanitation Projects (Part 2)

 

 

Note: If you haven’t yet read our brief article on Dr. Angela Huston’s work in water, hygiene, and sanitation issues across Africa, Latin America, and Asia, please see Part 1 of this article here. The following is a follow-up Q&A with Dr. Huston.

 

For Alumni: Things You Might Remember About Angela
 

1. I played on the boys’ football team in Middle School. I liked it, but I actually did discover that it hurt a lot to get tackled.

2. I petitioned the administration to allow us to wear those puffy vests inside, and they agreed to change the rule. (That was a really influential experience for me, to see that even when things seem really fixed there is an opportunity for change.)

3. I also petitioned for the right to walk around barefoot...this rule did not change!

4. For two years I was the chair of the shoe department at the arena sale.

Q&A

 

Getting an undergraduate degree in Environmental Chemistry and a doctoral degree in Civil Engineering were definitely not on your radar when you graduated from MA. How did you get started on this journey?

Mr. DiNardo was my chemistry teacher back when I was very bad at chemistry...I think I wrote him an email years after I left MA saying, “I know you thought I was a failure, but I actually majored in chemistry!”

I wanted to be an environmental activist...you know, get involved in all of these policy issues and current events. And I got really great advice from a professor: I was asking him, “Will you supervise me if I study environmental science?” And he said, “Actually, no, I think you will be a much better activist if you learn the hard science first. Can you do chemistry? Can you do calculus?” I said, “Well, yes, I can. I don't love it. But yeah, I can do it.” And that's what got me down the path of chemistry.

Those years were really about building my knowledge, so I understood the issues I already cared about. 

There was a break between your undergraduate and graduate studies. Can you share a little about that?

I took some time off. I started a jewelry business and for a couple of years I was making jewelry and selling it from different places as I traveled. The business grew and eventually employed six people. I traveled around WWOOFing [working with Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms, an educational and cultural exchange program]. That took me to East Asia, Central America, and Australia. I also did an internship in natural resource management. 

I definitely didn't know where I was going at that time. I was just exploring and loving learning about different ways that people were living around the world. 

Your travels impacted your decision to start graduate studies in Civil Engineering in Montreal. What brought this change?

One of the things I was starting to notice was these water challenges that existed everywhere that I went, whether it was a desert in Australia, people living on floating houses in Cambodia, or those drinking water out of the lake through a sand filter in Nicaragua. I realized that this was really a pressing issue for people all over the world. In some places, people really suffer.

When I was in the Dominican Republic I had an accident on my motorbike, which basically took me out of all sports and activities for about a year. I kind of panicked that my lifestyle was too dependent on my physical activity. I wanted to go and use my education and do something with it. 

I said, let me go into engineering, because I want to look at the big picture—not just one person and their health, but the whole public drinking systems. 

Angela and the local team she is working with greet a man during a utility visit. 

You’re very open about the fact that you don’t see yourself as naturally being a hard science or math person. What drove you to persevere through the doctoral program?

Honestly, I wanted to study the issues well enough to feel qualified to helping solve them. I know now that you don’t need a PhD to that, but for me the PhD certainly helped.

Why the hard science? I knew there was a sustainability crisis in the way that water engineering was being done in a lot of low income countries . The way that projects were being designed and delivered so often left out the human aspect. I know that I understand people, I get people. I noticed a huge gap for people like me who can get the technical side, but are at the very base people-oriented. And so I think that called me into this space. That’s also why I choose to stay in engineering for my research rather than shifting to the social sciences.

I have a PhD in civil engineering, but I did suffer through some of it. I get it now...I am an engineer, I often think like one too! But I’m not one of those people that’s just brilliant in science and math. I worked hard at it because it’s important for me to understand the technicalities. I failed some tests, and I had to study more than some of the other students in order to complete the assignments. But because of the ‘soft skills’ that I have,  I'm in a position to work with both the engineers and the communities, while also  advocating for doing things differently.

How would you describe the approach you use, the systems approach, to an outsider?

I think a lot of people approach drinking water from exactly the point where it flows out. But that is only the beginning. Many people approach drinking water or sanitation as this infrastructure challenge that, once that well is there or that toilet has been constructed, water is flowing and people live in dignity [problem solved].

Angela meets with local leaders for scheme planning in Cameroon.

With a systems approach we recognize that that’s only part of the picture.

If there's a tap, where's that water coming from? Is it of adequate quality? Does it flow all year long? Who's able to come and get it? Can they afford it? Who's paying to replace that tap once it breaks down? Who is cleaning the filter and protecting the water source so it doesn’t get contaminated by humans or animals? You might say, sure there is a mechanic to do this work—but maybe the part that they need is manufactured 200 miles away. How are they going to get that? Do they even know who has it? 

The system's approach is about understanding all of those different people that need to be involved in making sure that drinking water keeps flowing, and also all those different parts. So it's looking at the whole system, and also very much the role of government and policies so that it's not ad hoc—or leaving communities on their own to figure this out—but there's actually a systematic approach to ensuring everyone gets the service they deserve. 

A Ugandan Water committee meets to discuss challenges and opportunities.

NGOs and charitable groups sometimes share that political corruption prevents clean water from making it to the people who need it most. What are your thoughts on this?

Anywhere you're dealing with politicians or businesses, corruption is there. You go to Washington, DC and the way that things get done is so backwards due to corruption. The same is true with politics right down to the village level, but it's not that everyone is corrupt. 

In one experience in Uganda, we were working with many stakeholders to develop a district master plan to achieve universal water and sanitation services. In the first group assessment of why certain problems existed, one of the factors that came out was political interference. Considering the district politicians are a key partner for the master plan,  how were we going to deal with this? (This was specifically about the water pricing issue.) And through discussion with those stakeholders, we came to the decision that politicians should better be seen as a part of the system. We renamed the factor from ‘political interference’ to ‘political involvement’, and came up with a strategy to educate and influence politicians to change their actions. The government (and big businesses)  have a lot of power, so seeing them as something that we need to work around is not really the way to go; we won't get far enough. We need to work with them.

IRC does a lot with the technical sides of things, but we’ve also realized that we'll only get so far with these Sustainable Development Goals and global goals without the politicians buying in. Advocacy and influencing have become another core part of IRC’s strategy.

We know that when a politician is really committed, it's incredible. If they say “I want this done tomorrow,” it's done tomorrow. And so calling them in [as opposed to trying to work around them] is a really important part of our advocacy approach. 

Collecting data in Uganda.

If someone is interested in supporting a clean water project, what should they look for to make sure their money is going to something sustainable?

Often what’s required to overcome the problem of unsustainable water, sanitation and hygiene projects is working closely with permanent institutions. So, governments, schools, utilities, women’s groups, church leaders. The more that local people can be involved in owning the work, the more likely that it’s sustained. Even better if a project is integrated into the regular and ongoing activities of these institutions.

The first question to ask is: Who is the permanent institution you work with? If it’s a church, who is the minister? How is it run? Is this a respected leader by the wider community and local government?

An easy follow up question to a charity is: what are you doing to ensure long-term sustainability of your intervention? If the project constructs infrastructure, I'd like to hear an answer addressing things like operation and maintenance and spare parts supply. I’d like to hear about local engineers and mechanics.

You'll often hear about training the community to run a water supply point, because this community managed model is quite prominent. But training a community once is proven to not be enough for them to manage a water source. We are talking about engineering infrastructure here, could your local community repair a 30 meter deep borehole?

Ask about how those communities are getting ongoing support. Is the project providing it? Is the local government providing it? Is there a network that they’re involved in that is providing it? Look for more than a one-off training of the community if it’s a water supply project.

Also, look for who’s running these organizations or charities: Who are the people in management positions? Who is in the pictures? This is a way to get a feel for whether or not the work is likely embedded fully, strongly into local systems. With an organization like IRC, in every country that we work and have an office, there are no foreigners permanently employed there. In Uganda, [the people on the ground are] Ugandans. In Ethiopia, Ethiopians. Those are the ones invested in their sector. When borders close due to Covid, the work continues because the people involved are living there.

For those looking to donate – I agree that NGOs and charities can help a lot. A very small project can help a few people; changing a few people's lives is important. That said, the government is the duty bearer, they're responsible for doing this in the long term. So do keep in mind that  NGOs and charity projects have a role to play, but they should really be asking and letting the government decide where that NGO is going to direct their funds, which communities are going to get a source, and what types of infrastructure are built. They are the one monitoring the big picture and know where your money is needed most.

Of course, you can also invest in NGOs like IRC who work directly with governments to build their systems and resource base. Please contact me if you are interested!

The example in Cameroon [See part 1 of the article here] shows this. A very small change in the system had a big impact. If I worked at just the one tap, the one level where I met the young man [mentioned at the opening of the main article], it could have some impact. But when I worked with that national utility to build trust, to say, let’s look at your system and how it could be improved, [this type of collaboration is] more likely to have an impact that lasts.

 

With your strong focus on the local workers, what do you as an outsider bring to the table?

Great question. I ask myself that one often!

Often, I just bring a different experience. As someone external, I can objectively help to ‘hold up the mirror’ and provide new perspectives and insights that people who are more involved might not see. I have the advantage of having worked on similar issues in over 15 countries, so I can bring ideas and innovations from one context to another. I help to identify and promote best practices. In addition, I have experience from working with public systems across the US and Canada that do provide (nearly) universal services—I know it can work.

Something so basic, such as clean water, does take some fighting and it's an honor to be able to be part of that.

And honestly, I’d love to be out of a job someday because what I do is no longer needed, or—much more certain to happen—because someone from one of the countries that I work in has taken my place.

One of Angela's roles is sharing what she has learned from the wide variety of water and sanitation settings she has visited.

How would you say your time at Minnehaha Academy impacted your overall trajectory?

I definitely remember feeling a lot more prepared for university level coursework than some of my classmates. [Also, I felt prepared with] the mechanics of how to do huge projects...I learned how to work really hard for something without necessarily feeling tons of pressure about it. 

Teachers reading this, I thought the big and creative projects were great! I especially remember the egg drop project at the Upper School and the family history project at the lower school. And many of the science projects.

MA has a structured environment and is disciplined; there was a clear kind of philosophy for behavior and how people should interact. That was very valuable for me. But I also found that MA allowed a lot of space for individual contributions from students...I think we had many opportunities to influence the school or have an impact on the way things were done

I think [that with my] teachers, whether I was debating with them, discussing with them, or just being mentored by them, I developed the understanding that the adults in those positions of power really wanted what was best for me, even if I couldn't understand why they did the things they did. Going into the world with that understanding, it's really a privilege and definitely has influenced my ability to take risks and try new things.