Nigeria Joan Jonathan
At that moment, something shifted inside me: I realised that it was not just about fixing the latrine, but about dignity and resilience.
Joan Jonathan hails from Adamawa State, Nigeria, where she completed both her primary and secondary education. Joan pursued higher education at Modibbo Adama University of Technology in Yola, Adamawa State, earning a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Chemical Engineering. Later, she obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Community Health and Hygiene from the University of Maiduguri in Borno State.
“Before joining CTG, I served as a Corps Member with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at the Alhamduri Water Treatment Plant in Maiduguri, where I was responsible for ensuring a reliable supply of potable drinking water to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Stadium Camp and Dala community,” explains Joan. This role marked her first experience as a humanitarian aid worker.
Now, Joan works as a Hygiene Promotion and Community Engagement Facilitator for a programme in Nigeria.
Life-affirming work
For Joan, a day in her role involves delivering Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities to beneficiaries: “I assess the WASH facilities to evaluate their condition and functionality and ensure due maintenance by the technical team. I mobilise hygiene promoters for daily hygiene promotion, sensitisation campaigns and community engagement activities. I also visit all water points to ensure borehole functionality. After this, I consolidate a daily report.
“My role also involves conducting field visits to monitor project progress and conducting water quality analyses to ensure the supply meets WHO standards. I collaborate and coordinate with local government officials, stakeholders and other partners to align WASH efforts, and facilitate risk communication and community engagement activities.”
Working as a humanitarian is never short of its challenges, but Joan is always ready to step up: “One of the challenges I’ve faced in delivering WASH services to beneficiaries was suspension of USAID funding that facilitated latrine dislodgement. However, I was able to overcome this by collaborating with other sector partnerships who have a different funding project for dislodgement activities.”
When Joan is not working, she exercises frequently to improve her health and mental wellbeing and reads books to expand her knowledge.
Compassion in action
“One particular moment that has deeply impacted me was when, one day, while conducting my routine inspection at the IDP camp, I met Ahmed. He was about 10 years old, with a bright smile and sparkling eyes,” says Joan.
“Ahmed had been living in the camp with his aged grandfather for years. On the day I met them he was repairing a latrine blown by the wind with some pieces of cloth and a tree branch. At that moment, something shifted inside me: I realised that it was not just about fixing the latrine, but about dignity and resilience.”
Joan’s motivation is clear: The thought of assisting a thirsty child with a cup of potable drinking water and mitigating the wide spread of diseases through meeting basic sanitation and hygiene needs is a major source of motivation.
“My advice to someone wishing to choose a career as humanitarian aid worker is to prioritise creating impact in the lives of the beneficiaries,” she says.
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