In collaboration with NC Safewater, A&WMA, and COPRI, the Global WaSH Student Chapter hosted a series of speakers and events related to environmental sustainability for a full week of learning, fun and prizes! On April 21st, we hosted Dr. Rochelle Holm who is a long time collaborator in sanitation from Mzuzu University in Malawi. She’s the manager of the Smart Centre there and has led field research teams on a high range of topics like pit latrine contents and microbial communities over the years. 

Rochelle Holm, PhD, PMP, associate professor, received her doctoral degree in Environmental Science from Washington State University. She works primarily on issues of waste, sanitation systems, hygiene and rural water supply. Since 2012 she has worked at Mzuzu University (Malawi, Africa) bridging the gap across boundaries of research and innovative practice by working together with rural communities, government officials and academics. Most recently she has supported projects with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF, the Red Cross, and the Water Research Commission with a focus on sustainable water and sanitation systems, technology development, fecal sludge management and WASH strategies for users with disabilities. She is currently supporting research at the University of Louisville searching for COVID-19 in the Louisville, KY, sewer system.

Mzuzu University, located in northern Malawi, was established by an Act of Parliament in May 1997 and admitted its first students in January 1999. In 2009, the Mzuzu University Centre of Excellence in Water and Sanitation was established within the Faculty of Environmental Sciences. The primary objective of the Centre is to improve the effectiveness of sanitation, hygiene practices, and water supply interventions serving Malawi and surrounding countries. The Centre participates in research, water quality and fecal sludge analysis, training, consultancies, outreach programs, and the practical application of research findings. We excel at practical research, both bringing the results and solutions back to our areas of research and publishing for global sharing. Mzuzu University also has growing PhD and Masters programs in Water and Sanitation, and we aim to include these students in practical and innovative research experiences in each of our Centre projects.