Toilets, another thing that connects us
“The toilet is an amazing resource!” Few people announce that with such enthusiasm. For award-winning musician and songwriter Okyeame Kwame, going against the grain is not unusual, it’s celebrated—especially when it comes to issues of the heart.
A passionate advocate, activist and father, the Rap Doctor (as he is sometimes called) is known to put his lyrical words into action: raising public awareness for climate action as a Climate Change Ambassador or using his namesake Foundation to provide Hepatitis B screenings and education in communities across his home country of Ghana. To Okyeame, being morally upright is about individual change and commitment.
It's therefore no surprise that his activism also extends to the realm of water and sanitation. Through his music, activism and this interview, Okyeame shines a light on what connects and unites us—including our need for toilets. Toilets are indeed an amazing resource and one that is detrimentally underappreciated. Nearly half the world doesn’t have access to a decent one. Globally we celebrate their importance and highlight the need to ensure everyone has access to them.
Screaming the wonders of a safe toilet might not be conventional, but maybe it should be?
Illustration credits: Nvard Yerkanian for Fine Acts
Want to learn more? See how climate change links to failing water and sanitation systems with our factsheet. Let’s not stop there.
Here’s what respected members of our community have to say:
Catarina de Albuquerque
Chief Executive Officer | Sanitation and Water for All
Say it louder, Okyeame, for the people in the back! Taboos around the toilet are preventing us from looking at human waste as valuable - for energy, for agriculture, for industry. Imagine the waste! Everyone needs access to safe, dignified sanitation, and the world needs sustainable waste disposal and clean energy solutions. Embarrassment over poo shouldn’t keep us from harnessing a crucial resource.
Also, loved Okyeame’s point about the toilet as a symbol of equality – we all need to go, humans and animals! We often miss the opportunity to look at a toilet as something that connects people, as a source of greater social and environmental justice. Our partners at Sanitation and Water for All also been putting that message out there, through our Justice Begins Here campaign.
What I want to flush away
Injustice and Discrimination, Poverty and Stigma.
My inspirational vibrations, sounds and sights
To pick the most recent generations and an artist: I like Bordalo II. He is a young Portuguese artist who uses “garbage” to make installations that he has spread around the world and that, above all, intend to be the vehicle for a “universal manifesto against overconsumption and excessive production”. He also uses his art to “question the materialistic and greedy society of which he is (also) part”.
To go a little back in history, and to pick a piece of art, I would choose Guernica by Picasso!
Hope Voelkel
Okyeame’s climate activism surrounds all areas of his life-- his food choices (veganism), his art (pointed song lyrics), his parenting (the science of poo!). That’s inspiring and worth modelling, prompting the questions of how can I do this in my life, too?
What I want to flush away
My inspirational vibrations, sounds and sights
I return to this poem by Naomi Shihab Nye quite often: Kindness. Poetry, like song lyrics, when done well, can disarm us and help us listen to (disquieting) truths (even truths spoken from a toilet seat as Okyeame shared with us in this episode!).
Carolina Tornesi MacKinnon
President | World Youth Parliament for Water
The episode was a lot of fun to watch and was incredibly direct that we need to do something now about climate change. I loved the combination of jokes, art, and science in this video. They seemed to be happy and hopeful that we can do something to change the world's trajectory. Finally, I appreciated that he brought in the aspect of spirituality when we think about how we treat our earth.
What I want to flush away
I would flush away selfishness. If we could all see climate and water as a shared resource/space and not individual property we could solve these issues faster and sustainably.
My inspirational vibrations, sounds and sights
A piece of art that effectively champions positive change is: "En las Manos del Mundo" which translates to "in the word's hands". There are three parts, a pile of bottles, a little girl, and her drawing. The bottles represent the waste we have. The little girl is to highlight the importance of education regarding climate change and how to take care of our planet. The drawing/doodle represents the future where we are eco-conscience and live in balance with nature. The art piece was done in the middle of Buenos Aires, Argentina (near where I'm from) in one of the most popular parks, Plaza San Martin, on the grass (using all eco-friendly materials) and debuted on the international day of recycling 2019.
Michael Yidinne Bationo
Project Officer | Change Hub | IRC
This episode made me feel passionate and inspired about the fact that great things can happen from the smallest room. It also demystifies the “cultural” shame of talking about “toilet” bringing awareness.
His insight of the spirituality as a way to contribute to climate change and his whole ideology behind being Vegan resonated the most to me.
What I want to flush away
I would like to flush “selfishness” because lot of issues arise in the world or can’t be solve because of individualistic thoughts and behaviors.
My inspirational vibrations, sounds and sights
Yacouba Sawadogo “the man who makes the desert retreat”. He dedicated his life to growing his own forest in an arid environment in order to fight climate change and the protect the ecosystem.
Neil Dhot
Executive Director | Aquafed
I really like Okyeame's references to human responsibility to the environment and how this should be driven by our spirituality. His lyrics that he sung really explained it very well, especially our lack of stewardship of our planet in pursuit of money.
Okyeame suggests that pursuit of money is a short-term goal that would need to longer-term ruin of the planet, so we need to redress the balance. I also like that he asked the question why are we waiting for COP to try to do anything about it?
As my son is also interested in science, his mentions of his son also resonated very strongly.
What I want to flush away
I would like to flush siloed tunnel-vision thinking down the loo and have it treated and turned into openness and collaboration.
My inspirational vibrations, sounds and sights
I was shown this video just before the World Water Forum in Senegal and thought it was great. I sent it to the organisers of the World Water Forum and said it should be shown through the Forum on screens as it was made by talented young African artists. I never even got a response, which is so frustrating as it was a missed opportunity.
Afou Bengali
Country Director | IRC Mali
Very interesting talk making the link between climate change, food, sanitation! Indeed, toilets should no longer be a taboo, everyone should relate to them and finally political must to ensure that, the topic become a priority.
What I want to flush away
The greediness of human beings towards our Mother Nature...