WORLD PLUMBING DAY 2020 AROUND THE WORLD

Celebrations for World Plumbing Day 2020 were subdued in many parts of the world due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The global pandemic affected celebrations differently, with those countries first hit by the virus cancelling all celebrations. Those countries that were just beginning to be impacted scaled back many of their events, while those countries were the virus had not yet been detected continued as planned. Whether it was celebrated at home under quarantine, or openly among others, it was a good reminder to all of the importance of proper hygiene and sanitation, especially given the global pandemic.

Below are submissions from around the globe, categorized by country. If you would like to add your celebration, please email secretariat@worldplumbing.org.

AUSTRALIA

The Master Plumbers and Gasfitters Association of Western Australia

The Master Plumbers and Gasfitters Association of Western Australia celebrated World Plumbing Day 2020 with a week-long campaign on leading commercial radio stations in Perth and regional towns throughout Western Australia.

The campaign, which created greater public awareness of the importance of plumbing and qualified plumbers, included two interviews with the Association’s President and Chief Executive, live reads by radio announcers and paid advertising.

There was additional promotion on a radio station in one of Western Australia’s major regional towns.

MPGA President Matt Johnson WPD Interview

MASTER PLUMBERS WA – Murray Thomas – 6PR Simon Beaumont – 11.3.20

BME Plumbing & Gas

Celebrating World Plumbing Day 11 March, Every Year, Everywhere – MPAQ

 On Wednesday, 11 March, MPAQ once again celebrated World Plumbing Day by hosting the industry’s biggest breakfast at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. With over 300 attendees from the plumbing and gas industry, it was humbling to see the support and appreciation that individuals have for their industry.

 There were a number of government representatives in attendance, with special guests including the Honourable Mick de Brenni, Minister for Housing and Public Works, Digital Technology and Sport, and Brett Bassett, Commissioner of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission.

Guest speaker – Michael Crossland

 The event’s guest speaker was Michael Crossland, an extraordinary man who has defied the odds of life-threatening cancer to build a life of exceptional achievements. An accomplished businessman and an elite sportsman, his life is a remarkable success. Despite spending nearly a quarter of his life in hospital, Michael has forged a highly successful career in the corporate world, represented Australia in his chosen sport and featured regularly across all forms of media. He also runs a school and orphanage in Haiti and has been presented with the Australia Day Ambassador role for eight consecutive years.

Safe to say there wasn’t a dry eye in the room when Michael was talking!

This is a Conversation Starter (TIACS)

The MPAQ team sold raffle tickets throughout the breakfast for the 2020 MPAQ Events Charity Partner, This is a Conversation Starter (TIACS). Thank you to everyone who donated — over $4,000 was raised from your contributions! A special thank-you to TIACS founders Ed Ross and Daniel Allen, who were in attendance.

Visit the Events page on the MPAQ website (www.mpaq.com.au) for more information about TIACS or how to donate.

BURKINA FASO

Abdoul Matinou held an event at a plumbing training school to discuss the issues facing the industry. Additionally, he visited a primary school to inaugurate the implementation of a nice hand washing and safe drinking water place for the children of the school.

Additionally, he also conducted an interview with www.bf1tv.com about World Plumbing Day.

GHANA

Kimo Home submitted the following images and video from celebrations in Ghana.

INDIA

Pictures from the World Plumbing Day event at The/Nudge Gurukul, one of IAPMO India’s training partners. The new batch of students coming from underprivileged backgrounds started their House Maintenance Training (Plumbing and electrical skills mainly) during this week. The students gathered around in the morning for a familiarization session and group activity (making posters) followed by Swathi Saralaya, Project Manager, IAPMO India, talking to everyone on the importance of plumbing, it’s scope and career advancements.

Indian Plumbing Association Celebrations

Submitted By: B S A Narayan, IPA National Vice President, Director, World Plumbing Council

Rahul Dhadphale, IPA National Joint Secretary, Convener, WPD

Note: Due to COVID -19 various IPA Chapter activities that were planned for WPD celebration got suspended due to social reasons.

Pratham Education Foundation Celebrations

Pratham Education Foundation’s – Plumbing Program proudly presents a glimpse of the celebration of World Plumbing Day at Pan India locations. The events were organized at the training centers of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Odisha states. The overall objective of these events was to raise awareness about water conservation, saving water, the ‘Importance of Plumbers’ and more. The events for the celebration are listed below.

What India’s Skilling Ecosystem got up-to on World Plumbing Day!

Submitted by Mr Vinay Gupta, Vice-Chairman, Indian Plumbing Skills Council (vg@ipssc.in)

Dear Readers,

Do you know when was the first sewage disposal and drainage system introduced? It was way back in 1700 BC. Okay, let me ask another question! Any idea about the first man in the world to receive a patent for a flushing toilet? It was Scotsman Alexander who received the first patent for flushing toilets in the year 1775. Enough of Trivia, for now, let me just come back to the point.

As per the World Health Organization, poor sanitation is believed to be the main cause of approximately 4,32,000 deaths every year. I’m sure you’ll all agree that’s too much! Gradually, we all have realized that sanitation is an important factor in maintaining the health of a Nation. Our Hon’ble Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi realized this as well and that’s why the Swachh Bharat Mission was launched in 2014 on a large scale across India. However, people all over the world still lack awareness about Plumbing and its effects on health and hygiene. And that is why the World Plumbing Council observed World Plumbing Day on 11^th March 2010 for the first time. WPC has always been working with its member countries and its partnership bodies like WHO all year round to promote the benefits of safe plumbing, but in 2010 it was decided to launch the concept of embedding a single day on the world’s calendar, dedicated to plumbing.

Indian Plumbing Skills Council has proudly taken part in all the initiatives that are directly or indirectly linked with the upliftment of the Plumbing Sector in India. As an Organization working towards skilling and upgrading the plumbing community of India, our eco-system has always carried out multiple activities each year to celebrate the World Plumbing Day. This year was no different and IPSC’s affiliated training partners celebrated World Plumbing Day in different parts of the country. Ashirvad Plumbing School in Bengaluru celebrated the event by organizing a poster making competition, a plumbing skills competition and a skit contest in their premises. The motive behind conducting all these activities was to educate the students about the vital role of Plumbing. One of our training partners, Pratham Education Foundation, carried out some fabulous activities to celebrate World Plumbing Day as well. In the Panvel district of Maharashtra, they organized two free Plumbing Service camps and an Awareness Rally. In the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, the TP organized a free plumbing service camp at a police station and an awareness rally regarding water conservation. Pratham Education Foundation also demonstrated simple domestic water-conservation methods to the public in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Same camps were organized by the organization in Odisha as well. Our training Partner E-Biz Technocrats Pvt. Ltd. celebrated the day with the same energy. The Training Partner carried several activities across its centers in Madhya Pradesh & Uttar Pradesh. Some Government Schools in West Bengal also carried out awareness initiatives and painting competitions highlighting the importance of Plumbing. IPSC has been carrying out assessments in these schools as part of school vocational education, led by the states’ school board.

Before concluding, I would like to draw your attention to a fact that 900 million school children across the world have no handwashing facilities. 6 in 10 people lack safely managed sanitation, 3 in 10 people worldwide lack access to safe, readily available water at home. The numbers are alarming and there is no doubt that the entire world is combating this, however we need to be more pro-active to counter the numbers. And dedicated days like World Plumbing Day are proving to be catalysts in spreading awareness regarding Plumbing not only in India but across the World.

Mr Vinay Gupta is a technocrat from IIT Delhi and has been manufacturing premium range of Tap ware in Delhi since last 35 years. Mr Vinay Gupta commenced the first ever production of Single Lever Mixers with ceramic cartridges in the year 1986 in India and has the distinction of manufacturing them in India and exporting back to Germany. He is also one of the largest exporters of Bathtubs. Mr. Vinay Gupta is the Founding Members of the Indian Plumbing Association (IPA) and Indian Plumbing Skills Council (IPSC). As the Vice Chairman of IPSC, Mr Vinay Gupta has been spearheading the development of the robust and sustainable eco-system of Skill Development in Plumbing with the Government of India.

NIGERIA

This year the Professional Plumbing and Pipefitters Association of Nigeria used the occasion of World Plumbing Day to emphasize the importance of greater involvement of women in the plumbing trade. As homeowners and homemakers our women can help promote the health benefits of quality plumbing.

Adeyemi Oresanya, a self-plumber and chartered project manager of UNIVERSAL LEARN DIRECT ACADEMIA (ULDA) NIGERIA celebrated World Plumbing Day with the plumbing students of the training school.

A keynote address was given on the importance of plumbing and global health. Examples were given on how to limit the spread of COVID 19 through basic hygiene.

RWANDA

The Rwanda Plumbers Organization (RPO) celebrated World Plumbing Day by providing equipment to the Huye Integrated Polytechnic Regional College (IPRC) Plumbing Workshop. The RPO hopes to encourage students and staff to think of innovative plumbing facilities that save water and promote hygiene and sanitation. The recently formed RPO has quickly become a beacon of the important work plumbers do in protecting public health.

UNITED STATES

IAPMO Co-Hosts Congressional Briefing About Water Access Study on World Plumbing Day

IAPMO, DigDeep, the US Water Alliance and the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) today marked the 11^th annual World Plumbing Day by co-hosting a congressional briefing on the recently released report, “Closing the Water Access Gap in the United States: A National Action Plan.”

DigDeep and the US Water Alliance, with assistance from IAPMO, produced the report, which found more than 2 million Americans live without running water, indoor plumbing or sanitation service. TV and print outlets throughout the United States have highlighted the report and its findings since its November release.

The event included representatives from DigDeep, the US Water Alliance and RCAP, representatives from communities mentioned in the report such as the Navajo Nation and the Deep South, and others who came to present the findings and recommendations to Capitol Hill.

Read more: https://www.iapmo.org/group/update/2020_wpd_congressional_breifing

On March 6, ASPE Houston Chapter and Gulf Coast PHCC members partnered to visit with fifth-grade math students at Pearland ISD Middle School and introduce them to plumbing.

The ASPE and PHCC Intro to Plumbing student presentation was very successful. The teacher raved about this great program. He was even asking questions about how certain plumbing systems worked. Since these were fifth-grade classes, the class went over how evaporation works and the teacher thought that the evaporation diagram we used, and how we described that this involved plumbing, worked better than what they are teaching. The kids were very interested in the information we provided and enjoyed the interaction.

After introductions, Dave Clark used a projector to display a sink riser and went through where water comes from, what shut-off valves are and how they are used, what the p-trap is for, and where the waste goes once it goes down the drain. This led into Mark Park’s presentation displaying the evaporation diagram, how the buildings receive water and where wastewater goes after leaving the buildings.

Jim McStravock was next and described the different types of piping materials. He had samples of several types of pipe materials and fittings, and also displayed how to connect PEX piping and a coupling together. He passed around the PEX sample for the children to hold and they enjoyed trying to pull the joint apart. At this point, we distributed the house section and plumbing fixture cut-outs for the children to cut and glue the fixtures in the correct spaces on the house section. We asked lots of questions and the children loved giving their best answers.

This entire program took about 25 minutes per class. The teachers worked together to cycle three classes in and out every 25 minutes. This does not have to be conducted this way, but it was efficient. You need to work with the teachers and determine what is best for everyone.

At the end of class, we displayed lots of candy and told the children they would get candy if they answered the question correctly. As expected, they were excited. I asked them, “What was the most important job?” They all said “plumbing.” I would then say, “No, it is your teacher.” They all thought it was funny, and had a good time overall.

I received a follow-up call this week from the teacher who coordinated the presentation, and they all thought we did a wonderful job.

He said people have come in before to present to the students, but none were as professional as our group. He said we were the best who ever presented, and we kept the students engaged the whole time.

We will plan to visit the sixth-grade class next time. Congratulations team for volunteering to promote the plumbing industry.

Gulf Coast PHCC Committee Chair: Lucky Watkins, Southfork Chrysler Dodge Jeep and Ram

Donald Taylor
ASPE Houston Chapter President

David Clark
I.A. Naman + Associates, Inc.
ASPE Board of Governors Chairman

Mark Park
AAA Plumbers
Gulf Coast PHCC Secretary

Jim McStravock
Pepco Sales
Gulf Coast PHCC Board Member, ASPE Member

ZAMBIA

Plumbers Association of Zambia Celebrates World Plumbing Day

For the first time in the history of Zambia, Plumbers Association of Zambia (PAZA) and plumbers in Zambia joined the globe to commemorate World Plumbing Day. Being a newly formed Association, March 11, was like a dream and many people were surprised to hear about World Plumbing Day because the common celebrations in Zambia are World Water Day and World Toilet Day. On this day, the association had two activities:

1. YOUTH SKILLS PRESENTATION: Youths who are in the plumbing industry joined the groups from other professions to showcase their skills organized by the labor union in Zambia. Our presentation was given by Plumbers Association of Zambia Skills Field Coordinator Mr. Titus F. Hantumbu and Ms. Caroline Chengo, the female instructor in Plumbing and Sheet metal. Hantumbu explained the importance of the plumbing industry and how it benefits the community in terms of safety, health, and safe water and sanitation. Chengo encouraged her fellow women and young women to join the plumbing industry, saying it is not a time to allow only men to venture in these hands-on activities, but a time to be gender equal. She further said women can change the world if also involved in what traditionally have been men’s activities.

She said young women can particularly benefit from being a skilled plumber, and having a skill as a woman will reduce gender-based violence, early marriages and early pregnancies.

On the same occasion, Plumbers Association of Zambia Women Forum Coordinator Miss Violet Siansumo encouraging her fellow women in Zambia to become self-reliant and not depend on husbands or bosses. During the women’s forum, she said the time is right for women to get involved and obtain a life skill. Siansumo appealed to Plumbers Association of Zambia President Mr. Moses Chongo and the World Plumbing Council (WPC) to support women in Zambia by providing skill training, especially in plumbing and mechanical services

2. COMMUNITY SERVICE ACTIVITIES: On the same day, the Plumbers Association of Zambia visited the largest hospital kn Zambia, University Teaching Hospital (UTH).

The purposes of visiting the hospital were to provide service, replace broken plumbing appliances, and assess broken items in the hospital to be replaced later.

We also visited the hospital’s plumbing workshop, where we found plumbing equipment/tools and workshop arrangements that were not in a good state. As the association, we advised the plumbing maintenance officer to always seek advice from the Plumbers Association of Zambia experts. Safety and health are of the utmost importance in the workplace.

Plumbers from different parts of the city of Lusaka, from different companies, students from skills training institutions like Lusaka Vocational Training Centre, Zambian College of Water and Sanitation, and Lusaka Business technical college, and also from community skills training centers attended. Others came from the water utility company, Lusaka Water and Sanitation Company.

The Plumbers Association of Zambia was accompanied by sponsor POLYFLEX-ZAMBIA, the supplier of many plumbing pipes in Zambia.

Plumbers entered the hospital assessing problems. The most common problems discovered were leakages, broken appliances like wash basins, urinals, flushing cisterns (siphons), pipe leakages, faucets and traps. We discovered that almost $700 is needed to purchase materials to fix the problems.

Common problems in the hospital

Our university teaching hospital’s plumbing pipework system was not done professionally, so it is not suitable for use. Unfortunately, plumbing in Zambia is not considered to be a serious industry that protects and improves people’s lives.

The hospital here is using plastic containers as water storage tanks. There are leakages everywhere in bathrooms, toilets and sometimes in nurse/doctor work rooms.

This kind of sanitation is a serious case that Plumbers Association of Zambia discovered in the hospital.

The chief hospital administrator through the Hospital Public Relations manager, thanked the Plumbers Association of Zambia CEO/President Mr. Moses Chongo for coming up with the brilliant idea of helping the community and the hospital at large by identifying problems in various public and private institutions.

She said this program should continue providing quality services and promoting the plumbing industry in the country. She recommended using only qualified plumbers in the country who can offer quality works in public and private institutions.

Mr. Moses Chongo, the president of the Plumbers Association, said this is just the beginning, and that the association will continue to work with people in the community and the government by ensuring that quality services are provided by the country’s qualified and tested plumbers. He further said the association would link companies and other stakeholders including manufacturing companies, suppliers and more so that Zambia’s plumbing industry in Zambia would remain a hub of qualified, professional and proven plumbers. Chongo appealed to the government and stakeholders to support the association in Zambia. Chongo further explained the importance of the plumbing industry:

1. Encourage health through plumbing: This is why the World Plumbing Day was created and recognizes the critical link between health and public facilities. The Plumbers Association of Zambia plays a significant role in maintaining our health. As the association, we are fully concerned about the COVID 19 pandemic, which requires our industry to be involved by providing safe water and other equipment to help the public.
2. Introduce healthy bathroom habits. It is our responsibility to teach everyone — starting with our families at home — about taking care of plumbing facilities, maintaining good sanitation and promoting hygiene.

On the same occasion, Plumbers Association of Zambia General Secretary Mr. Stanley Simbeye explained to the audience that following assessments, the association had identified a number of issues at the Zambia’s largest health institution, and the association was glad to offer its plumbing skills. He added that the Zambian community is very excited about our association based on our objectives, and our expectations are that the World Plumbing Council will help our leadership grow. This includes training the leadership in the latest plumbing technologies and other related plumbing systems. Answering a question from the media, Simbeye said the only challenges the association has is financial support in terms of setting up the office, and we need the WPC to help the association create activities for our members. The Plumbers Association has over 80 full-time members and more than 500 part-time members.

The Plumbers Association of Zambia uses the 4 P’s: Participation, Practice, Products and Protection. This is why we encourage all qualified plumbers to participate in plumbing activities, be professionals by practicing plumbing works, provide quality products and protection. As the association we are partnering with Lamasat, the giant manufacturing company in Zambia, and also Polyflex, Zambia’s plumbing pipes supplier in Southern Africa.

Zambia will continue working with the WPC to improve the country’s plumbing industry.