By Robert S. Benchley
If social entrepreneur Jack Sim had asked students what they thought of his presentation, held at the School of Business November 20, many might have told him, with a smile, that they really enjoyed talking sh*t. And Sim probably would have smiled back, happy that they got the point.
That word appeared in various permutations throughout his presentation because Sim (pictured here), who many call “Mr. Toilet,” is founder of the Singapore-based World Toilet Organization. The message he delivers everywhere he travels is that 2.5 billion people worldwide — 40 percent of the global population — have no access to a toilet. Moreover, the situation is worst in many of the developing countries with the fastest-growing populations. The result is a world health crisis, because open defection spreads diseases and pollutes the water. “One fly,” Sim told his audience, “is more dangerous than 100 tigers.”
Sim, who was awarded the Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the Schwab Foundation of Switzerland and founded 16 companies, was in the U.S. to help the United Nations observe the previous day, November 19, as World Toilet Day. He stopped in Miami on his way home to Singapore to speak in UM Ethics Programs’ Ethics, Policy and Society program. The event was chaired by John Mezias, associate professor of management, who invited Sim, and Anita Cava, professor of business law and co-director of UM Ethics Programs.