100 WATER HEROES: MBALI CHIYA

Journalist, Alex FM

Mbali Chiya is a South African journalist whose work on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) has been internationally recognised. In 2014, Mbali was named as one of their WASH Media Award winners for her feature, Human Rights to Water and Sanitation.

The WASH Media Prize is “awarded to journalists for excellence in reporting on critical water, sanitation and hygiene issues,” a competition that is entered by people throughout the world. Mbali’s winning feature was focused on raising awareness of WASH issues in Alexandra Township, Gauteng.

By engaging with community members on their WASH concerns, Mbali was able to explain their rights to adequate WASH facilities, something she believes many of them did not initially understand. In competition with a number of international journalists, Mbali’s feature won the “The Human Right to Water and Sanitation” category.

Mbali is one of our #100WaterHeroes for raising awareness about WASH issues in South Africa and for reminding citizens of their rights to adequate WASH facilities.