One year later: how UNLEASH changed my course
Last year, I was selected as a member of the inaugural cohort for the UNLEASH Innovation Lab, which took place last August in Denmark. UNLEASH is a global innovation lab, convening 1,000 carefully selected millennial thought leaders from all over the world who collaborate on ideas and solutions to help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The inaugural lab spanned 11 intense days — we had schedules full of activities and a lot of work to do as we tackled some of the world’s most difficult and pressing problems. Naturally, during these times, you get closer to those with similar perspectives and experiences.
At UNLEASH, I met D.J. Brooks, an American working in water quality and water data in Burkina Faso. D.J. and I were both in the Water track, though placed in different sub-themes — I was in Sanitation & Hygiene and he was in Governance. There were some similarities that made us connect right away: we both had had experiences working in West Africa on water-related issues and we remembered each other from past Facebook introductions. During the lab, we had the chance to exchange about our ideas on how to fortify the water sector to overcome current challenges and difficulties, specifically in the West African context.
After UNLEASH concluded, I went back to Brazil, and he moved from the U.S. to Burkina Faso to build his organization’s programs. If anyone had said to me at that time I would soon leave everything behind in Brazil to move to a different country, on a different continent, with a completely different culture, I would say they were joking. And yet, here I am.
Two months after going back home, I was talking to D.J. when he floated the idea that I come work with him in Burkina Faso. I was in a comfortable period of my life with a nice job, good friends, and interesting plans. I was feeling gifted for many good things that were happening to me, but that inner voice kept saying “go for new adventures, new challenges, new beginnings.” Everything happened really fast.
Now, we are both currently living in Fada N’gourma, the capital of the Eastern Region of Burkina Faso, a small, landlocked country located in West Africa. We work for Initiative: Eau, an American non-profit, non-governmental organization whose mission is to increase the safety and quality of drinking water services in developing urban areas.
Initiative: Eau’s approach is human-centered, and data-driven. As such, data represents a common thread that links each of its programs. Each uses data to inform strategic decision-making whereby rendering available financial and human resources for development efforts better targeted and more effective.
I’m working as a Development Associate and have been mainly involved with communications and fundraising. The days aren’t very easy here — the cultural differences and living conditions are challenging for me, comparing them to what I was used to in my home city of São Paulo or any other country in which I had lived prior. However, the work we do is important and rewarding, and we get to meet and interact with inspiring people from different backgrounds often.
If someone were to ask me the most meaningful thing I took from UNLEASH, I would not hesitate to say the connections with my incredible fellow talents. The knowledge I gained from being there and the solutions I saw being created are no doubt incredibly valuable, but they would be meaningless without the people behind them. The SDGs are about people, and connecting, and working together to make them happen for a sustainable future.
