We had the good fortune of connecting with Jasmine Burton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jasmine, how does your business help the community?
Wish for WASH’s mission is to bring more diverse minds, talent, and innovation to the problems of global heath and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in our world through the lens of research, design and education because #everybodypoops. We specifically operate within the United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) framework where SDG 6 seeks to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030.” This target exists because over 4 billion people in the world today don’t have access to safely managed sanitation which leads to a host of health and environmental issues.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Over two billion people in the world today lack access to improved sanitation and over four billion people lack access to safely managed sanitation. People often resort to using unimproved pit latrines or holes in the ground that they share with their neighboring community members that are often overflowing, poorly maintained and or far from home. These unimproved pits are also susceptible to collapsing during inclement weather and can result in spreading the fecal waste into both the ground and surface water sources. Often times, people that live in densely populated communities without sanitation facilities resort to open defecation, which leads to a host of both mental and physical health problems. The lack of toilets in schools makes it incredibly challenging for young, pubescent girls to safely manage their menstruation; this frequently results in girls missing school during their period every month, which often time leads to them dropping out of school completely. 

Wish for WASH is a social startup (that now operates as a multipronged collective) that is intended to bring innovation to sanitation through culturally specific research, design and education. I founded it in December 2014 following the initial pilot that my Georgia Tech interdisciplinary senior design team and I conducted in tandem with the CDC and the Norwegian Refugee Council under the auspices of Sanivation in the Kakuma refugee camp. This pilot was made possible after my senior design team was the first all-female team to win the Georgia Tech InVenture Prize Competition for our SafiChoo toilet. The SafiChoo toilet, our first line of sanitation relief products, is a novel toilet system that takes into account the common preference of a squatting position for defecation. The SafiChoo toilet’s most current, patent-pending design is composed of separate, modular units, which enables the user to build the system to best meet their specific needs. The intention is to use a human-centered design approach to improve the user experience of both the end user and the community waste management servicing team. In 2015, we conducted an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that was 100% funded to support their 2016 Zambian beta pilot. After securing funding, we manufactured, shipped, installed and monitored the newest version of the SafiChoo toilet in tandem with Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor Zambia (WSUP) and the Lusaka Water and Sewage Company (LWSC). This 10-week beta pilot that was conducted in a peri-urban compound in Lusaka, Zambia received positive feedback from the project stakeholders and the community, which has led to an interest in scaling the SafiChoo toilet in the city. Additionally, we worked with a resettled refugee community in Atlanta to pilot a dry, compost version of the SafiChoo toilet in 2017 and are now working to test the true market opportunity of the SafiChoo toilet in both US and Zambian markets.  

In 2018, we started building out our educational portfolio by conducting a Design Thinking for Toilets course with an Atlanta based high school and launched our first educational coloring book. In 2019, we coordinated and conducted a series of community-based design thinking workshops that sought to not only proliferate the design thinking methodology to the Atlanta public, but to also inspire our community to use this methodology as it relates to local water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)related issues.  Additionally, we launched our Wish for WASH Merch Store were each piece uses designs from Atlanta based and women artists that support the Wish for WASH mission. Additionally, the proceeds from our merchandise goes to support our innovative sanitation initiatives. In 2020, we launched our WASH-related educational initiatives that are rooted in design thinking and instructional design with the Girl Scouts of Atlanta and the International Rescue Committee in Atlanta. 

In addition to these educational initiatives, we have a been working towards publishing some of our research findings on both academic and informal platforms  to further proliferate, advocate and showcase the power of and opportunities unlocked when WASH research uses design thinking and social inclusion approaches. 

Over the past 5 years, we have demonstrated our commitment to our mission by creating a multiplier effect whereby we recruit, equip, train, empower and meaningfully engage 100+ people under the age of 30 and largely based in Atlanta to lead work in reaching ~170+ people directly with innovative sanitation pilots (such as design thinking pilots with our patented SafiChoo toilet design) in both Atlanta and in Sub- Saharan Africa. These young leaders then recruit, equip, train, empower and meaningfully engage new Wish for WASH members with an innovative and inclusive lens. Collectively, we have also reached 15000+ people indirectly with our 100+ community and global events, talks, 3 learning reports, 5 workshops and 45+ press/media features. According to an Impact Analysis conducted by a One Young World Consultant, Wish for WASH has a 1:3 Social Return on Investment ratio.

Ultimately, as a young, Atlanta-based social collective, the Wish for WASH team is thankful to continue practicing design thinking and social inclusion methodologies in order to to help the world reach the United Nation’s 6th Sustainable Development Goal Targets by 2030 because #everybodypoops. 

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
From Fortune 500 headquarters to global health leadership to cutting edge technological advancements to the internationally renowned music and film industries—Atlanta’s reach continues to proliferate the global stage through evidence-based impact and thought leadership. As a native ATLien, I have internalized this spirit as a multifaceted millennial social entrepreneur who works at the intersection of technology, global heath and business. But beyond that, Atlanta is an epicenter of southern culture and hospitality which is palatable in our food, events, community centers, and places of worship. Some ‘musts’ on an Atlanta visit list include: The Vortex in Little Five Points, Victory Sandwich Bar in Decatur, the Varsity, Desta, Mary Macs, Jannahs Soul Food, The Fox Theater for a show, Ormsbys, Jeni’s Ice Cream, Superica in Krog Street Market, New Realm, walk the Beltline, The Atlanta Beer Bus, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Trap Pilates, Aerial Yoga at Inspire Aerial Arts, The Gathering Spot, MLK Historical Site, For Keeps Bookstore, Citizen Supply at Ponce City Market, the Carter Center, Refuge Coffee Co, the World of Coke, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Museum, Atlanta Botanical Gardens, CNN studio Tours, Atlanta Center for Civil and Human Rights, the High Museum of Art and Piedmont Park. 

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Atlanta is such a a beautiful and diverse city with so much and so many to celebrate and be inspired by. Below are some fellow twenty-somethings that I have been blessed to cross paths with and be continually inspired by in Atlanta:

  • Connelly Crowe: Connelly is a singer, songwriter and all around folksy enchantress. Check out her amazing work and creations at https://www.facebook.com/connellycrowemusic/
  • Rosa Duffy: Rosa is creative, a convener, and a curator who opened the bookstore and reading room in the heart of Auburn Avenue called For Keeps which features rare and used black books. Check out her incredible collection and amazing work at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/08/books/atlanta-bookstore-for-keeps-black-mecca.html
  • Caroline Beckman: Caroline is a brilliant serial entrepreneur who is making waves in the probiotic industry with her company Nouri. Check it out here: https://dailynouri.com/
  • Scooter Taylor: Scooter has incredible marketing and mobilizing prowess which he has most recently dedicated to the creation of QuarantineCon, a digital experience has been bringing hundreds of people together to hear from experts that are crushin’ it within their respective fields, and to maximize the time we all now have at home. Check it out here: https://quarantinecon.co/
  • During these COVID times, I also want to shoutout those that are wearing masks and social distancing to help protect our city and its people. 
  • A massive shoutout goes to our frontline workers from doctors to nurses to EIS officers, we are eternally grateful for your service. 
  • Lastly, I want to shout out my family – my mom, dad, sister and pup – for being my steadfast community and support system that continued to keep me inspired and challenged in my Wish for WASH journey and life at large. Love ya fam!

Website: www.wishforwash.com and jasminekburton.com
Instagram: @wishforwash and @jasminekburton
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasminekburton/
Twitter: @wishforwash and @jasminekburton
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wishforwash

Other: Shop our sanitation themed merch designed by local Atlanta female artists. The proceeds from our merchandise goes to support our innovative sanitation initiatives both locally and globally because #everybodypoops. http://www.wishforwashthinks.org/shop/

Image Credits
This photo was taken by Wish for WASH and is owned by Wish for WASH.