UAlberta alumnus, '10 MD, Abdullah Saleh is helping to improve access to safe water with the Kenya Ceramic Project. Photo credit: The Department of Surgery.
The focus of the United Nations' World Water Day on March 22 every year is to bring attention to the importance of universal access to clean water. Abdullah Saleh's non-profit organization is helping deliver clean water at a low cost, in a way that empowers communities.
Saleh, '10 MD, is the Chief Executive Director and Co-Founder of Innovative Canadians for Change (ICChange). He is also a pediatric surgeon at the University of Alberta Hospital and the director of the Office of Global Surgery.
Saleh was interviewed from Nairobi, Kenya. Get to know more about his work below.
What are you doing in Nairobi right now?
I am here in my capacity as the director of the Office of Global Surgery at the U of A advancing some of the office's initiatives. I'm also here to scale up projects we started as part of our non-profit group ICChange. The main thing we're working on right now is scaling up our ceramic water filter factory. We acquired a new plot of land just outside of Nairobi, so we are building a larger factory. We are also building an innovative manufacturing space on the land and a social entrepreneurship academy. That way we can share some of the lessons we've learned with up-and-coming innovators and enable people with lower socioeconomic backgrounds to be able to take their ideas, develop a product and a sustainable business with a social impact.
What is your educational background?
I did my MD and general surgical residency at the University of Alberta and a fellowship in pediatric surgery at McMaster University. I came back to the U of A in August, 2017, and started my new role in the Office of Global Surgery. I also practice as a pediatric surgeon at the U of A hospital.
What inspired you to help people beyond your practice as a surgeon?
I have lived in various different cultures, and I realized how lucky I have been. I am originally from Iraq, which is now a war-torn country. I've had incredible opportunities to get an education, develop skills and had the opportunity to leverage resources and meet different people that made this possible.
My parents always taught me that you can make the world a little bit of a better place by trying to be the best version of yourself and trying to give back. Ultimately, it's not about money-it's about how much you can impact people.
How did ICChange get started?
Before starting medical school, I travelled to Latin America a couple times and got the idea to start a water filter initiative. When I got into med school, I met my co-founderAbraam Isaac and we started developing the technology while we were students at the U of A. As we grew and took on other initiatives, we had projects in Latin America, South East Asia and East Africa. We realized that what we were really getting better at was curating local talents from all around the world and helping to manage that energy and resources to help solve big problems in sustainable ways, using innovation and applying best practices. With that in mind, we set up ICChange as a platform to be able to address any problem, but our mandate remains to improve the quality of life and security of vulnerable populations.
Vulnerability is used in the broadest sense possible. People can be vulnerable in many different ways, including in high-income settings.
What is the importance of the Kenya Ceramic Project?
Fifty per cent of Kenya's population still doesn't have access to protected water sources or safe water. Diarrhoeal disease is a real problem for children under age five and causes high mortality in that population. It also affects people by taking away their productivity and livelihood because of illness that prevents them from working.
The ceramic filters have reached about 140,000 people so far. Our goal is to reach a million people in the next five years. We really believe that providing clean water becomes the basis of better wellness for these communities. The filters last a family of five for two-to-three years for about 15 dollars.
How do you work in partnership with the communities?
We work through partners for the community and for our partners. We try to minimize our organizational footprint as much as possible. When we first started up the Kenya Ceramic Project, we started with a local community-based organization and set up the factory as part of their programs. We work closely with health facilities, local governments and respected groups such as the Kenya Red Cross and the Surgical Society of Kenya.
What are some of the lessons that have made ICChange successful?
In medical school we learn it's not about us, it's about the patients and we also apply that here to the development work we do. It's not about us, but it is about the people we are trying to affect. It comes down to the basic ethos of medicine, which is not to do good, but instead to avoid doing harm. It can be a surprisingly difficult thing to accomplish.
I also learned to never promote the suffering of the people you're trying to help. You don't want to dehumanize them. People want you to show emotional pleas of people suffering, but that's not empowering. You're there to serve others in a way that protects their dignity.
In terms of balancing everything, it's amazing how much time we have to do things that invigorate us. Having a passion project with your closest friends makes it easy. I encourage any medical student or resident to find something that can help balance out the tough days in medicine.
Why is UAlberta a great homebase for these global initiatives?
Having the right people at the right time makes all the difference. There is a new focus on global surgery in the Department of Surgery, which allows someone like me to have a platform to build something big because I have the commitment from the department and the right people on my team.
We are also lucky to be able to build something new because there is room to grow and we're not crowded by too many other existing initiatives.
What are some of the other initiatives ICChange is involved in?
We developed electronic medical records inKenyan slums, we are working ontrauma systems and we have programs helping reshape health systems and the environmental factors in slums. A large percentage of Kenya's population lives in slums, with 60 per cent of Nairobi living in these informal settlements and we're working to reimagine how these can be better places to live.
How can people get involved?
The10th annual Kenya Run for Water is coming up on April 28. That's a great way to participate. If you have an idea or want to get involved, contact the Office of Global Surgery or ICChange, we are always looking for people to participate. If you have an idea you want to pursue, we are happy to help get you there.