Charles Shachinda joins Water for Kids

“Over the course of my life’s endeavours, my personal ethos has broadly come to embody the realisation that some of the best gifts we can ever give or receive in life are to serve a purpose bigger than ourselves. At the very best, this can integrate some of life’s highest ideals, such as the promotion of equitable and adequate access to water, sanitation and health (WASH), especially for the most vulnerable and marginalised populations. It is precisely against this backdrop that I joined Water for Kids, an organisation committed to ‘drinking the talk’ by putting its money where its mouth is, thanks to its generous donors and partners, to reach the most remote and far-flung places and communities in a compassionate endeavour to improve livelihoods through the provision of WASH. I was particularly drawn to WfK’s commitment to sustainability as the essence of its projects and the need to closely engage with, help build capacity, and transfer ownership to the local communities it serves,”

Charles is a Civil Engineer by background with 6+ years of industry experience in delivering a diverse range of civil and water projects and initiatives, including fostering high-level multi-stakeholder engagements and partnerships in both the private and public sectors globally. In his current role at British Water, Charles is responsible for the delivery of British Water’s international programme, which encompasses leading business development engagements across various water markets, including in Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. Charles holds an MSc in Engineering from the University of Leeds (UK), in addition to a joint BBA and BEng. Besides his professional work, Charles is also a published author, a 2024 University of Oxford Policy Leadership Scholar, a 2023 International Water Association and Grundfos SDG 6 Fellow, and a 2020 Beit-University of Leeds Scholar.