No school can succeed without access to clean water 

When we talk about education, we usually think about teachers, books, and classrooms. But what about toilets? Or clean drinking water? As strange as it might sound, sanitation plays a huge role in whether students can actually learn. 

That’s where Sustainable Development Goal 4 comes in. SDG 4 (Quality Education) is about ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all. And while it might seem unrelated, achieving this goal is closely tied to another one: SDG 6 (Clean Water & Sanitation), which focuses on clean water and sanitation. 

In both Canada and Brazil, efforts to improve education are often held back by poor sanitation conditions, especially in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities. A student who does not have access to a safe bathroom at school may skip class, miss learning time, or even drop out. This is especially true for girls, who often stay home during menstruation when schools lack private washrooms, access to water, or proper disposal for menstrual products. Studies show that a significant share of girls in low resource settings miss school during their period because basic menstrual hygiene facilities are not available. 

In my own research across nine municipalities, I compared cities in Santa Catarina, Brazil, with cities in Ontario, Canada. While the Canadian cities generally had better infrastructure, both regions face serious challenges when it comes to equity. Even in Ontario, Indigenous communities like Neskantaga First Nation continue to struggle with boil-water advisories that have lasted decades. Similarly, in Brazil, 2024 UNICEF data reveals that over 12 million children still lack adequate sanitation, particularly those living outside large urban centers. 

Education policies often overlook this connection. But the United Nations has made it clear: access to clean water and sanitation is essential for learning. Without it, children miss school, get sick more often, and face higher risks of dropping out. This affects not just individuals, but entire communities trying to break the cycle of poverty. 

In some places, local governments are starting to pay more attention. For example, school construction programs are being updated to include better hygiene facilities. Some Canadian schools are also adding water and sanitation content into their environmental education lessons, helping students understand how these systems work and why they matter. 

Still, a lot more needs to be done. The SDGs offer a useful framework, but they are not enforceable laws. No one will be taken to court for not meeting SDG 4 or SDG 6. These goals depend on political will, awareness, funding, and community support. 

But that vision matters. It reminds us that clean water and quality education go hand in hand. If we want to build fairer, more sustainable societies, we need to look at how our systems connect and make sure no one is left behind simply because they don’t have access to something as basic as a working toilet. 

Disasters don’t usually come out of nowhere. Here in Toronto, we’re seeing it more often. Frequent floods sweeping through neighborhoods and hazy skies thick with smoke are all signs of a changing climate. Around the world, countless communities are facing resilience challenges due to infrastructure needs which have long been ignored. And  in too many cases, it’s vulnerable people who were left out of planning, whose systems fail first, and who have the fewest resources, that bear the heaviest burden.  

As an engineer, I often think about resilience in terms of systems—water networks that withstand drought and floods, energy grids that keep clinics running during storms. But resilience is not just a technical problem to be solved. If we don’t think beyond the technical and to the people being served, the technical solutions are bound to have limited impact. At the Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN) and my research group, the Water and Energy Research Lab (WERL), we explore how technology can serve people more equitably. We design solar-powered water purification and desalination systems, sustainable irrigation technologies, and low-energy wastewater treatment solutions for communities where centralized infrastructure doesn’t reach—or doesn’t last. 
 
Technical innovation alone isn’t enough. Our collaborations in South-East Asia, Mexico and the Caribbean have reinforced a critical truth: the success of an innovation depends as much on community trust, training, and ownership as it does on efficiency. When residents shape the technologies meant for them—choosing what’s maintainable, affordable, and culturally appropriate—those solutions endure. When they don’t, systems fail long before the next disaster strikes. 

This year, through ongoing partnerships with colleagues from the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), I’ve been reminded how diverse resilience looks across regions—and yet how universal the challenges are In Canada, remote Indigenous and northern communities face recurring evacuation cycles due to wildfires and floods. In Mexico, earthquakes and hydrological risks intersect with rapid urbanization and inequality. Across the Caribbean, stronger hurricanes and rising seas threaten livelihoods, infrastructure, and access to safe water. In every case, under-represented and marginalized populations are those most at risk. They are also the source of some of the most creative, grounded solutions—whether it's: 

• Indigenous fire stewardship in northern Canada, which restores cultural practices and strengthens community bonds,

• Community-led hazard mapping in Chiapas, helping residents identify and respond to local risks, or 

• Women-led emergency response networks in Jamaica, providing vital support for affected families.  

Building resilience means elevating these voices, not speaking for them. It means designing technology and policy with empathy, humility, and the awareness that experience takes many forms. 

True disaster risk reduction depends on connection—across borders, disciplines, and lived experience. That’s why CGEN’s tri-regional collaboration with UNAM and UWI continues to grow. This past year we hosted a series of workshops at each partner to understand the context and build collaboration. We are currently building on this through collaborative research projects and opportunities for student exchange. These partnerships are focused on SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). 

As I reflect on this work on the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, we’re reminded that the work of engineering resilience begins not with technology, but with listening. And that the most powerful tools we have are not only solar panels or sensors, but partnerships built on trust, respect, and shared purpose. As disasters grow more complex, our ability to listen to communities, partners, and one another will define how resilient our shared future can be. 

The SDGs Student Advisory Committee is a team of undergraduate and graduate students who are committed to addressing the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals through student and community engagement. Our student advisors serve one-year terms during which they dedicate themselves to representing and promoting SDG initiatives through leading student engagement events and knowledge mobilization efforts across the wider U of T community, cultivating platforms of learning and action on the SDGs. 

As we congratulate our newly recruited and returning members of the Student Advisory Committee, Arjun Yanglem, one of the committee’s returning members and a fourth-year Honours Bachelor of Science candidate in Psychology, Public Policy, and City Studies at the University of Toronto, Scarborough campus, reflected on his experience being an SDGs student advisor.  

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What initially drew me to serve on the Student Advisory Committee was the rare opportunity to contribute to real change at the institutional level. I had already been serving on several high-governance bodies across U of T and had seen firsthand how crucial it is to have informed, empathetic, and proactive student representatives in those spaces. So, when I saw that the committee was working at the intersection of student engagement and the SDGs, I was immediately drawn in. This wasn’t just another volunteer role; it was a chance to advocate for systemic change, bring forward student-driven insights, and help build bridges between the university’s leadership and its diverse student population.  

This was a space that advocated for systemic change and brought forward student-driven initiatives. It aligned perfectly with the values I had already been living through my work at NATO Canada, the Ontario Energy Board, and as a researcher exploring the very systems and policies that shape our society. Joining the Student Advisory Committee felt like a natural extension of that work, but with a sharper global lens. I saw the committee as a space where thoughtful ideas could become real strategies and where the energy and imagination of students could help move the university forward in its commitment to the SDGs. 

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My time on the committee has helped crystallize the kind of leader I want to be: one who doesn’t just react to problems but works collaboratively to reimagine systems. The opportunity to put the SDGs into practice through tangible policy, programming, and community engagement reshaped my career ambitions from simply wanting to be "in" public policy to wanting to lead public innovation with empathy and equity at its core. 

 Being on the committee also encouraged me to think more globally while still acting locally. I want to take the lessons I’ve learned—how to engage communities, frame problems holistically, and mobilize action—and apply them on a larger stage. I’ve realized that effective leadership today means understanding complexity, listening deeply, and designing initiatives that don’t leave people behind. This committee didn’t just inform my vision; it sharpened it, gave it purpose, and reminded me that meaningful change is always possible when you choose to lead with intention.  

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What made this experience particularly impactful was the level of respect and seriousness with which student voices were treated. I’ve sat on many committees across the university, but the Student Advisory Committee stood out because it wasn’t just about giving feedback; it was about shaping the agenda. I was challenged to think more holistically and came to understand that the SDGs are not isolated targets but part of a deeply interconnected ecosystem. Advancing one goal often requires progress on several others simultaneously, and navigating those tensions and opportunities was an invaluable learning process. I learned how to navigate the push and pull between ambition and feasibility and work on creating a more lasting, equitable impact. 

Change and progress don’t start with perfection. They start with presence and purpose. The Student Advisory Committee is proof of that. Student ideas are not just welcomed; they are actively used to build a better university and, by extension, a better world.  

I’ve seen firsthand what happens when young people claim their space. Through Dialogues at 1265, for instance, we brought together some of Canada’s most influential leaders and 800+ students to engage in honest, necessary conversations about healthcare, journalism, criminal justice, and climate equity over the span of one year. That impact wasn’t created by experts or officials; it was created by students who believed their voices mattered.  

The committee is no different. It’s a launchpad for those who want to learn, lead, and leave the university stronger than they found it. The actions of students, no matter how small, contribute to a larger mosaic of change. Your perspective as a student is needed. Your story is valid. Don't wait until you feel ready. If you care about making things better, then you already have what it takes. 

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Arjun’s insights and SAC’s initiatives rise to meet the greater concerns of students who are hesitant to see their contributions as just as integral to SDG advancement as those of researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and even faculty. But the truth of the matter is, the 2030 deadline looms. There is no “right time” to integrate students into this pursuit—the best we can do is to encourage their potential and realize this is an all-hands-on-deck situation. 

Change can start right here, and we are encouraging it to start right here, at U of T—with forward-thinking students like Arjun at the forefront, who will not only see the results of the 2030 Agenda but also rise to meet the challenges and triumphs that will succeed it.