Jockin Arputham, winner of the Sarphati Sanitation Award for Lifetime Achievement honored at Memorial Lecture

The late Jockin Arputham, founder of Slum Dwellers International () (SDI) is this year’s winner of the Sarphati Sanitation Award for Lifetime Achievement for his decades of work improving life and sanitation for slumdwellers across the world. On Monday, 7th of October, Jockin Arputham was honored by his friends and colleagues at a Memorial Lecture held by SDI during their annual conference. 

Mr. Jockin Arputham visits a slum in Africa (Photo: SDI)

Jockin’s life

At the Jockin Arputham Memorial Lecture, those who have worked with Jockin shared their stories about the impact of his life and work. Jockin came from humble beginnings, leaving home as a teenager to work as a carpenter in Janata Colony, a Mumbai slum. Jockin was quickly established as a community leader, organizing a school within the slum and involving himself in community organization. One of Jockin’s first political acts for the people of the slum came when he organized thousands of children to carry uncollected garbage in the slums to the municipal council office, which gained the slum organized trash collection services from the government.

This spirit continued as Jockin worked to keep Janata Colony from being bulldozed, organizing protests and legal action in the early 1970s. Despite his enduring efforts (which included being arrested over 40 times), his mission failed and the slum was evicted. Through these experiences, Jockin realized that protests and demands were not working – the local government needed to see the slum dwellers as knowledgeable and capable, thereby seeing the value of working together. 

Jockin formed the National Slum Dwellers Federation () in India, and joined forces with Mahila Milan (in Hindi, “women together”), a female pavement dwellers organization and SPARC, a Mumbai NGO for the urban poor. Through community-led projects, such as savings groups and community mapping, he created a system in which poor communities were organized and worked as powerful partners in development alongside the city.

This movement became international in the 1990s, spreading to South Africa and Southeast Asia, and eventually growing into the immense network it is today. Jockin was called “the flying slum dweller” as he worked around the globe to grow the network and connect slum/shack dwellers in 33 countries throughout Africa, South America and Asia. Stemming from Jockin’s vision, the network works to transform slums into resilient neighborhoods and inclusive cities by using women-led and bottom-up agendas for change, securing tenure and increasing access to basic services, housing and livelihoods.

Jockin’s impact on sanitation

Clean water and sanitation for the urban poor is one of the key challenges faced by slum dwellers, and is one of the biggest priorities for the SDI network. Through Jockin’s work in SDI, he has made an enormous impact on sanitation provisions for the urban poor. Jockin worked to promote community-led sanitation projects, from which over 45,000 households have directly benefited.

Sanitation projects are identified and prioritized by community-driven data collected and are designed and managed by the community, with professional support. Through this model, affordable, sustainable and innovative solutions are being adapted and replicated across the SDI network. By implementing the sanitation projects on a community level, it is clear that it can lay the groundwork for partnerships and interventions on a wider scale.

Mr. Jockin Arputham at a demonstration (Photo: SDI)

Jockin’s legacy

Jockin Arputham passed away in October of 2018, after fighting for the rights of slum dwellers for over 40 years. His legacy remains within the millions of slum dwellers of whom have benefitted from his initiatives and tireless advocacy. At the Jockin Arputham Memorial Lecture, Sheela Patel, founder of SPARC and friend and colleague of Jockin for over 3 decades, spoke on his impact. Ms. Patel stated that beyond all of the lives Jockin has touched personally as a friend and colleague, his biggest legacy was the federation model that he designed and shared which will continue to allow slum dwellers to organize themselves into powerful collectives for change.

Sarphati Sanitation Award for Lifetime Achievement 2019

The personal commitment, endeavors and perseverance of Mr. Jockin Arputham are absolutely extra ordinary, according to the honorable Jury. This award is a tribute to his merits and achievements in field of the global sanitation challenge. The award will be presented during the Opening Ceremony of the Amsterdam International Water Week () on Monday 4 November in the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre.