tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41815407890287156592024-02-08T02:40:02.125+00:00Toilet TwinningUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-54138350472385144312017-05-24T15:39:00.001+01:002017-05-24T15:41:48.651+01:00How do you protect your family in CAR: the "worst country in the world"?<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Ericaine’s story is about a mother’s
love, a wife’s resilience and a woman’s determination to make life better – not
just for her family, but for everyone in the displacement camp they call home, <i>writes Toilet Twinning CEO Lorraine
Kingsley.</i></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I met Ericaine in the middle of a displacement camp in Central African
Republic. It’s considered one of the worst countries in the world to live – and
Ericaine is one of CAR’s most vulnerable people.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r86BLmpLE3s/WSWLBGS8DOI/AAAAAAAAAt4/99wq43205yw3MAtBkTUf2EZiQQUe3k6PgCEw/s1600/_RHX0529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r86BLmpLE3s/WSWLBGS8DOI/AAAAAAAAAt4/99wq43205yw3MAtBkTUf2EZiQQUe3k6PgCEw/s400/_RHX0529.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Ericaine (left) is now keeping her community safe and healthy</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It was stifling inside the large, wooden-framed tent that housed Ericaine’s
family – and seven other families besides. Her tarpaulin-walled compartment housed
a bed of sticks held together with string, with a flimsy rattan mat on top. It
didn’t look comfortable enough to sleep on for one night – let alone three years
and counting.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Above the bed, clothes hung from lines of string hung between nails in
the wooden struts: a woman’s skirt, a top and a shirt, and a few items of children’s
clothing so dishevelled they looked more like cleaning rags.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Next to the bed sat a tiny cabin-sized suitcase, and a few pots and
pans. On the bed lay a small pile of dog-eared textbooks and exercise books.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Before Ericaine came to this camp, she told me, she had a
market stall selling groundnuts, cassava and palm oil. She had her own home,
enough money to feed her children and money for clothes. Her husband works away
on a diamond quarry.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Life in a displacement camp in CAR is tough</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Ericaine, now 39, was at home when she heard gunfire. She went
outside, to find people running in all directions, terrified, desperately
looking for their children and relatives.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Ericaine called to her four children, and started running. She
carried her two-year-old daughter on her back: her teenage daughter Sandra carried
her younger brother and Ericaine’s other son ran alongside them.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A man was gunned down in the street ahead of them. A woman told them
she’d seen armed militia nearby and she pointed to where it was safe for them
to go. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Ericaine and her children ran to the bush and sheltered for two
nights. She stayed awake, guarding her children. On the third day, she felt
brave enough to make her way to a nearby church, where she took refuge with
about 100 other families. A large tarpaulin shelter was set up for them in the
church compound – and that was their home for the next eight months until a UN
camp was established next-door. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Ericaine was four weeks’ pregnant when she arrived at the church. Over
the next eight months, they often heard gunfire and often hid in the bush for days
at a time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It was while they were cowering in the bush one day that Ericaine went
into labour. She sent Sandra on ahead, with her siblings. She had her baby
there in the bush, before help came.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A couple of women carried Ericaine back to the church, where staff
looked after her, gave her sheets and clothes and medicine.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Soon after Ericaine’s baby girl, Pricille, was born, the UN camp was
set up. Conditions had been terrible in the church compound: they were just as
bad in the camp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rd4lC7SAoO8/WSWMBBRRaCI/AAAAAAAAAt8/8TjYidwx8NEFOyyhOcfdHuctnIHa4WQzACLcB/s1600/_RHX0368.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rd4lC7SAoO8/WSWMBBRRaCI/AAAAAAAAAt8/8TjYidwx8NEFOyyhOcfdHuctnIHa4WQzACLcB/s400/_RHX0368.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">A teenager doggedly continues her education, despite everything</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Sickness and diarrhoea were rife. Ericaine’s daughter Benicia, who
was two at the time, spent a month in hospital with extreme fever and sickness
– probably typhoid.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Without proper latrines, children went to the toilet anywhere and everywhere.
The smell was awful: so were the rats and flies. Women would go to toilet in
the bush – where they feared being attacked.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aIeTpema48Q/WSWMEj19LzI/AAAAAAAAAuE/XSkqoO_JlysKIdkiLogWi6acyodbWieygCEw/s1600/_RHX0524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aIeTpema48Q/WSWMEj19LzI/AAAAAAAAAuE/XSkqoO_JlysKIdkiLogWi6acyodbWieygCEw/s320/_RHX0524.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Ericaine and her cleaning kit</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Enter the organisation we raise funds for, Tearfund. Water and
Sanitation staff capped a nearby spring to provide clean water for residents in
the camp, and built them ten toilet blocks and bathing blocks, along with
handwashing stations. They trained a small team of residents who were charged
with looking after the toilets and making sure people used them properly.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Ericaine volunteered immediately. ‘I wanted to make the camp a
healthier place – not just for my family – but for the whole community,’ she
says. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Ericaine and the cleaning team asked for padlocks, so they could stop
children making a mess of the toilets and damaging the temporary wooden-framed
structures. Mothers took responsibility for holding the keys, so the toilets
would stay as clean as possible.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Gradually, conditions have improved and people are healthier. Ericaine
and her team are proud they’ve been able to play a part in protecting their
community.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">‘We saw a big reduction in sickness and diarrhoea,’ says Ericaine.
‘Here, we live on top of each other, so everyone can hear you when you’re
sick. We’d often look after children if a mother was ill.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">‘Things are so much better now. I can’t thank you enough for giving us
back our health.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Ericaine’s nation
is still volatile: intense violence flares up without warning. But, here at
least, in Ericaine’s corner of ‘the unhappiest country in the world’*, she’s
able to keep her family safe, from disease at least.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">*UN poll, March
2017 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-54636247942794412432017-05-17T11:09:00.001+01:002017-05-17T11:09:40.569+01:00How do we become a Toilet Twinned Town?<h4>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></h4>
<h4>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We bet you’ve visited 20 different
toilets in the past year. Imagine how amazing it would be if they were all
twinned… That’s all it takes to twin your community. It’s easier than you
think!</span></b></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">‘Toilet Twinned
Town’ (or village or city or island) is an accolade we give to communities who
have come together to twin lots of loos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Skelmersdale in
Lancashire became the UK’s first Toilet Twinned Town in January 2015 when a
local vicar got his congregation to donate twins to public venues across the
town. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Since then, 14 other communities have received the award – from the city
of Chester to the Isle of Man – and many more are in the pipeline. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YItnsScIUpU/WRweoxk4xtI/AAAAAAAAAtU/AawgjiHKyukJrXjOKffSMqvUOBfkJnnDACLcB/s1600/Skelmersdale%2BTTT%2Bpresentation.%2BCredit%2BMartyn%2BSnape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YItnsScIUpU/WRweoxk4xtI/AAAAAAAAAtU/AawgjiHKyukJrXjOKffSMqvUOBfkJnnDACLcB/s400/Skelmersdale%2BTTT%2Bpresentation.%2BCredit%2BMartyn%2BSnape.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Skelmersdale becomes the first Toilet Twinned Town. Photo: Martyn Snape</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">If you’ve
twinned your own toilet, and perhaps given a Toilet Twin as a gift, the next step
might be to twin your town. Without belittling the efforts of those who’ve
already won the award, we reckon it’s not as hard as you think. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">We ask you to
reach a certain number of twins by </span><a href="http://www.toilettwinning.org/on-a-roll-/become-a-toilet-twinned-town/"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">achieving five different goals</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> (eg involve the local council or MP;
twin a school, church or businesses; and get some media coverage). The number
of twins varies, depending on the size of your community. For a Toilet Twinned
Town, for example, that can be as few as 20 and for a Toilet Twinned Village it
can be just five.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.toilettwinning.org/contact-us/">Ask us
today </a></span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">for the goals
you’ll need to achieve in order for your village, town, city or island to get
in on the action! </span><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Remember: every toilet built is used by
an average of six people – so twinning 20 toilets could provide proper
sanitation for 120 people… or more.</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Here are some
thoughts about how you might get started…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>1: Make it a team effort</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Gather some like-minded people who are passionate about privies.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Dorothy
Mansfield was part of a group at St Andrew’s Church in Stewton who spread the
word about twinning across their Lincolnshire village. The group held ‘Community
Coffee’ events each month and gradually built up a ‘wall’ of toilet twins. The
church had just invested in their own toilets so wanted to help others abroad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Our friends in the aptly named Scottish town of Bathgate took a similar approach.
Their Fairtrade coffee mornings proved a great way to raise funds and inspired
several local townsfolk to twin their loos too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2: Order a Make-a-Stand kit</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Set up a Toilet Twinning stall at a
local event and tot up more twinnings for your town.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Burnham’s Inner Wheel group led the way in making their Buckinghamshire community a Toilet Twinned Village. They held a stall at their local donkey derby, as well as other fundraisers which have included an Indian-themed evening and a quiz night. As a result, they’ve twinned several local loos including the newly refurbished public toilets. As Inner Wheel President Beryl Senior says, ‘We have learnt a great deal about toilets!’</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w0T0GQhsPcE/WRwfGC7oydI/AAAAAAAAAtY/YMQt9nvJUQ4ZmRenQu22Wbtx6k5p_CwywCLcB/s1600/Make%2Ba%2BStand%2BBurnham%2BDonkey%2BDerby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w0T0GQhsPcE/WRwfGC7oydI/AAAAAAAAAtY/YMQt9nvJUQ4ZmRenQu22Wbtx6k5p_CwywCLcB/s320/Make%2Ba%2BStand%2BBurnham%2BDonkey%2BDerby.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Burnham Inner Wheel's stall at the local Donkey Derby</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">3: Spread the word by stealth</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Don’t wait for people to donate: give
them the Toilet Twin you want them to have! <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">St Paul’s Church
in Skelmersdale drew up what they called a ‘hit list’ of local toilets they
wanted to twin – from the staff loos at their local Asda to the local soft play
area. Rev Chris Spittle says, ‘It’s been great to see churches, schools, care
homes, businesses, shops, pubs, community centres, our mayor and MP all
agreeing to receive a toilet twin.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">4: Think big if you dare…</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The world’s your oyster: twinning your
town is not the end of the road.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">A Churches
Together team in Eastbourne have set themselves the ambitious target of
twinning 1,000 local loos in 2017. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Eastbourne
twinners are really going for it – contracting schools to plumbers merchants to
hotels – and they’re backing up these efforts with a digital strategy which
includes a </span><a href="http://toilettwinningeastbourne.online/"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">website</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> and an </span><a href="http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=ToiletTwinningEastbourne&isTeam=true"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">online giving page</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TMBaoYazSk0/WRwgAW8-AlI/AAAAAAAAAtg/xW1Z9PLuS4o5Pr1eMOKe6ou7Aep0JOexgCLcB/s1600/Fullscreen%2Bcapture%2B17052017%2B110221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TMBaoYazSk0/WRwgAW8-AlI/AAAAAAAAAtg/xW1Z9PLuS4o5Pr1eMOKe6ou7Aep0JOexgCLcB/s400/Fullscreen%2Bcapture%2B17052017%2B110221.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Group member Stephen
Brown told BBC Radio Sussex that he though Eastbourne ‘probably has more
toilets per head than any other town in the UK’, not least because of all its
hotels and B&Bs. ‘We have 100,000 people in Eastbourne so we think 1,000
toilets is a do-able aim,’ he says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Twinning your town is a sure-fire way to
help local people bond around a great cause and change lives forever in poor
communities. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.toilettwinning.org/contact-us/">Get in
touch today </a></span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">so we can start you off on your journey
towards becoming a Toilet Twinned community. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-67290668641324688522016-12-14T12:23:00.000+00:002016-12-14T18:06:33.975+00:00The twelve days of Christmas twinning<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>To get you in the festive mood, here’s our countdown to Christmas,
with 12 days of Toilet Twinning (and some terrible puns)… Join us as we take an
affectionate look back over some of the highlights of 2016. </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eGV0tp1LW_0/WFEv8ZgUiJI/AAAAAAAAAsE/bV2hrwcnUsg2HOTlgnpli40nBPt8q_nYQCEw/s1600/cuddies%2BRRS%2BDiscovery%2BDundee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eGV0tp1LW_0/WFEv8ZgUiJI/AAAAAAAAAsE/bV2hrwcnUsg2HOTlgnpli40nBPt8q_nYQCEw/s200/cuddies%2BRRS%2BDiscovery%2BDundee.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the first day of Christmas… <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘Dundee’
(which rhymes with ‘<b>pear tree</b>’, ish)
becomes our <b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129;">first </span></b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129;">Scottish
Toilet Twinned City and host to our <b>first</b>-ever
Malawi twin (in the ‘cuddies’ on board RSS Discovery, no less).</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the
second day of Christmas…</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We absolutely ‘<b>turtle
dove</b>’ (cockney slang for ‘love’) all our <b>two</b>-legged heroes who have taken on sporty challenges for us, from
cycle rides to treks, runs to rowing.</span></div>
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<b><o:p></o:p></b><br />
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the
third day of Christmas…</span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">ROQ holds<b> three</b> weeks’ worth of toilet-themed craziness
in their office to twin toilets, complete with </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">a school uniform day,
loo-roll dodge ball contest, bingo and maths quiz.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FwMtQ8ZIulA/WFEv2Tq1SaI/AAAAAAAAAr4/86vVAM5N-J4XqKmdkklqSIObEzX9Cr6zACEw/s1600/Petra%2BCrofton%2Btriathlon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FwMtQ8ZIulA/WFEv2Tq1SaI/AAAAAAAAAr4/86vVAM5N-J4XqKmdkklqSIObEzX9Cr6zACEw/s200/Petra%2BCrofton%2Btriathlon.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the fourth
day of Christmas…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Toilet-tastic
Petra Crofton twins 20 loos to mark her <b>four-tieth</b>
birthday, by setting herself fundraising challenges throughout the year,
including a triathlon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the
fifth day of Christmas…</span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Guardian crossword marks World Toilet Day
with a fiendishly tricky cryptic one in aid of us. Can you guess the answer to <b>Five down? </b><i>Reduce or eliminate wrinkles (8). </i>(Answer below.)</span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the
sixth day of Christmas…</span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Christine McGibbon in Northern Ireland <b>allays (geese a-laying… it’s close!)</b>
all fears she’s slowing down, by setting herself a target to twin<b> six-ty </b>toilets to mark her 60<sup>th,</sup><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the
seventh day of Christmas… <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1<sup>st</sup> Maxwell Mearns Rainbows,
Brownies and Guides raises more than <b>seven</b>
hundred pounds (£750) by collecting money in specially painted ceramic ducks
(distant relatives of <b>‘seven swans’</b>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0RHPvbAqpKc/WFEvwNDTNUI/AAAAAAAAAr4/TxINX1UF2YAe9JKolU_cGO_SzDL0ABghgCEw/s1600/Knitted%2Bhats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0RHPvbAqpKc/WFEvwNDTNUI/AAAAAAAAAr4/TxINX1UF2YAe9JKolU_cGO_SzDL0ABghgCEw/s200/Knitted%2Bhats.jpg" width="150" /></a><b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the
eighth day of Christmas… <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For <b>eight </b>weeks, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">the Sunday School<span style="color: #222222;">
children at Llanishen Evangelical Church collect money in uber-cute coin
collectors <b>‘maid’ (as in a-milking)</b> out
of toilet rolls, with specially knitted hats.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the
ninth day of Christmas…</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">N</span></b><b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ine-year-olds
</span></b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">make a big splash with their twinning this
year, including Emily Greenway from Nottingham who organised a ‘toilet fair’ (which included a game of
‘splat the poo’) and Ronan McGowan who ran the junior Great North Run for us.</span><br />
<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RugdBpXmbHQ/WFEvtkWN6TI/AAAAAAAAAr4/cbC4c49s89UBl-VpZWt39QLVY5SWQLeagCEw/s1600/8yrolds%2Btwinning%2Bpot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RugdBpXmbHQ/WFEvtkWN6TI/AAAAAAAAAr4/cbC4c49s89UBl-VpZWt39QLVY5SWQLeagCEw/s200/8yrolds%2Btwinning%2Bpot.jpg" width="150" /></a><b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the
tenth day of Christmas… <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lordsalummy!
Ten out of ten </span></b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">for bravery for
a little girl with encopresis who overcame her own toilet battles to raise
money in her penny pot and provide a loo for a family who didn’t have one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the
eleventh day of Christmas… <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Thomas Lloyd, who’s <b>eleven</b> slept outside in a bivvi bag for
at least one day a month, in temperatures which were not exactly <b>piping </b>hot. Brrrr…illiant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the
twelfth day of Christmas… <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Many, many more than <b>twelve</b>
people at St Brendan’s Sixth Form College in Bristol join in with the
pre-Christmas fun run – <b>drumming</b> up
support for toilets!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KRorXvLs6qw/WFEywEjPRbI/AAAAAAAAAso/uU_FdsU6o3Qs4jBCckyNloL_MrKEU_4xwCEw/s1600/St%2BBrendan%2527s%2BSixth%2BForm%2BCollege%2BXmas%2B16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KRorXvLs6qw/WFEywEjPRbI/AAAAAAAAAso/uU_FdsU6o3Qs4jBCckyNloL_MrKEU_4xwCEw/s320/St%2BBrendan%2527s%2BSixth%2BForm%2BCollege%2BXmas%2B16.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>There are
many, many more twinners we could and should have mentioned here: huge thanks
to you all and a very Merry Christmas!</b><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><i>Answer to Day 5 puzzle: Decrease</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-28299113872666632016-11-18T15:11:00.000+00:002016-11-18T15:14:11.028+00:00Why World Toilet Day matters for the Dorteas of this world<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Every toilet twinned to celebrate World Toilet
Day brings safety and dignity to a family like Dortea’s. No wonder she’s happy…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">It wasn’t so very long
ago that Dortea’s smile was a rare event. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Every time she and her
daughters needed the toilet, they had to venture out into the bush.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">‘My husband would stand
at the edge of the compound and wait, worrying that something bad might happen
to us,’ she recalls. ‘As a mother, I was afraid every time my daughters went.
They had to go in groups or be escorted by me.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IH07C0Z9SYM/WC7-2sV3SAI/AAAAAAAAAq8/j_WjrMwUI_0KMc9Z0QCE6vV1ybvYJSdmgCLcB/s1600/Dortea%2BDRC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IH07C0Z9SYM/WC7-2sV3SAI/AAAAAAAAAq8/j_WjrMwUI_0KMc9Z0QCE6vV1ybvYJSdmgCLcB/s320/Dortea%2BDRC.jpg" width="242" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Dortea's life has changed, thanks to her loo</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">The dangers in this
remote part of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are many. Snakes and scorpions
lurk in the scrub. Dortea’s husband was bitten by a snake a few years and was
in hospital for three weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">But it wasn’t the
wildlife that posed the greatest threat to Dortea and her girls…</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">‘I came back from the
fields one evening with my husband,’ recalls Dortea. ‘A man was waiting in the
bush. He came from behind and tried to push me forwards. He used a lot of
force… said he had a machete. Then my husband appeared and the man ran off.’</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Mwandiga village
is in South Kivu province, close to the border with Rwanda and Burundi. At the
height of the civil war, armed insurgents from these countries flooded across
the frontier, to join what became known as ‘Africa’s World War’. Sexual
violence against women was rife across Congo – but South Kivu was a flashpoint.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">‘At that time, many
people were being attacked as they worked in their fields or came home in the
evening,’ says Dortea. ‘Women and girls were also attacked as they went to the
bush to go to the toilet, or when they walked to get water. Things were really
bad.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Mwandiga village began
as a clearing hacked out of the forest that still surrounds it. Most people
came here with nothing in 2008 and found nothing here. They had fled to Tanzania at the height of the civil war, and then been forcibly repatriated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Gradually, people
started building homes and cultivating land. But there was no clean water, and
no sanitation. Dortea and her daughters used to have to walk to the shore of
Lake Tanganyika to wash or collect water for cooking. It was a long trek,
fraught with risks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Now, despite DRC’s volatile
political situation and rumours of conflict, Dortea and her neighbours in
Mwandiga feel much safer. Their first line of defence is the new latrines being
dug at homes across the village.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oafw0sqetm8/WC7-8rRNOsI/AAAAAAAAArA/WWQcIr9E6OUzeg4jl71gyrWWwMcFZLBmACEw/s1600/Handwashing%2Bchild%2Bdrc%2Blow-res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oafw0sqetm8/WC7-8rRNOsI/AAAAAAAAArA/WWQcIr9E6OUzeg4jl71gyrWWwMcFZLBmACEw/s320/Handwashing%2Bchild%2Bdrc%2Blow-res.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Ekyoci watches her son use their tippy tap</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Tearfund, whose water
and sanitation work Toilet Twinning funds, began to set up Community Health Clubs
in the area in 2013. The aim was to help villagers learn and share skills in
hygiene and health </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">matters, and to encourage everyone to dig pit latrines next to their houses, for
their own families and for one another.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Now Dortea and family
have a toilet: they dug the pit, Tearfund provided the slab.
And there’s now a borehole nearby, ending their long treks to the lake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Residents of Mwandiga are now proudly showing off the new tippy taps they use to clean
their hands and the bathing areas that they've constructed so they can have privacy when they wash themselves and their children. They now have a drying
rack for their pots and pans, to keep them off the ground, and a rubbish pit to
contain their waste.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">‘Personal hygiene for us
and our children was all new to us,’ says Ekyoci, Dortea's neighbour. ‘There used to be a lot of
flies buzzing around but they have decreased. We have a lot less disease now.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Their friend, Zaina,
laughs as she talks of Health Club members’ hard sell as they encourage
everyone to have a toilet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">‘There is always someone
in this village talking about toilets!’ says Zaina. ‘”You must have a toilet,
you must have a toilet…” That's how I knew that it was really important for my family’s
health and security.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">‘The best thing about
having our own toilet is the privacy. We know now that we can’t be seen as we
go to the toilet.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vA9d7uG_KR0/WC7_I7nMGmI/AAAAAAAAArE/Ato6KTsYjlUYv6ksA95ljKsAB9q3GmvBQCLcB/s1600/Zaina%2BDRC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vA9d7uG_KR0/WC7_I7nMGmI/AAAAAAAAArE/Ato6KTsYjlUYv6ksA95ljKsAB9q3GmvBQCLcB/s320/Zaina%2BDRC.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Zaina is proud she can protect her sons' health</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Dortea, Zaina and Ekyoci
are all immensely proud of their toilets. Because, although they have no
control over what happens at national level, they can at least be sure that
they’re doing what they can to keep their families safe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">As Dortea puts it, ‘People
do not need to go far from their houses any more. The instances of women being attacked
are much reduced. Things are different now…’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">World Toilet Day, which
is on November 19 every year, exists to help more people like Dortea, Zaina and
Ekyoci access proper sanitation. Their lives have been transformed by a simple pit
latrine and some basic training.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Isn’t it time the same
thing happened for the one-in-three people who still don’t have a toilet? <a href="http://www.toilettwinning.org/">Twin your toilet today</a> and rewrite
someone’s future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-4122587090173488612016-07-22T16:40:00.000+01:002016-07-22T16:56:01.843+01:00How toilets are restoring dignity and hope in the DRC<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><b>Simple latrines mean safety and dignity for women like Bawili and Ebinda </b></span><b style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">in the Democratic Republic of Congo</b><b style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">, as Toilet Twinning's CEO Lorraine Kingsley discovered.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Ebinda was 14 when she was attacked. It was early evening – about 6pm –
and she had gone into the bush to relieve herself. It was not yet dark so her
mum, Bawili, allowed her to go out alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">But as Ebinda crouched down, someone grabbed her neck. She doesn’t know
how many of them there were: she couldn’t see them. They pushed her to the
ground. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bawili saw the bruises and scratching around Ebinda’s neck as soon as
she ran in, crying. She knew instantly what had happened.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The Médecins Sans Frontières doctors who treated Ebinda observed that, if
she’d had a proper toilet at home, the attack would never have happened.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hhl4X6obaWI/V5I5GU4UeCI/AAAAAAAAAqg/pYlq2bZJfb8RtEvvRb4CZgeRLcXK9vesQCLcB/s1600/Bawili%2Band%2BEbinda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hhl4X6obaWI/V5I5GU4UeCI/AAAAAAAAAqg/pYlq2bZJfb8RtEvvRb4CZgeRLcXK9vesQCLcB/s400/Bawili%2Band%2BEbinda.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Ebinda, with her mother, Bawili</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Meet Bawili and
Ebinda for yourself: </span></b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYOuM9vSW_0&feature=youtu.be"><b><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">watch our Big Relief film </span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">But Bawili couldn’t afford to build a toilet. Her husband was shot
dead during the civil war insurgency in the 1990s, and the remaining family
fled as refugees to Tanzania. When the Tanzanian refugee camp was closed down
in 2008, they were sent to South Kivu province, eastern Congo, to start again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">They had nothing and there was nothing for them in Mwandiga village. No
water, no sanitation, no home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">They could only afford one jerry can, so Ebinda would make three journeys
a day to the lake for water. It was a 90-minute round trip. Each journey put
her at risk of being attacked. Each jerry can of dirty lake water put the
family’s health at risk. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">A few months after they settled in Mwandiga, Ebinda was bitten by a
snake as she crouched in the bush – and the hospital didn’t have any antivenom serum.
She says she has felt weak ever since.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">A few months after that, the brutal attack happened. Ebinda fell pregnant
and left school as a result: her son is now six. She told us that she hasn’t felt
truly happy since the attack. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bawili believes that if her husband had still been alive, he would
have had the strength to build them a toilet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dXQKFjYA72w/V5I5GeMSqZI/AAAAAAAAAqc/C4mGygRU938zKFMpDFu1k0KVK9Ur3RzJACLcB/s1600/Bawili%2Balone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dXQKFjYA72w/V5I5GeMSqZI/AAAAAAAAAqc/C4mGygRU938zKFMpDFu1k0KVK9Ur3RzJACLcB/s320/Bawili%2Balone.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Widow Bawili provides for her family alone</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">And yet, this family – despite their deep poverty – spent three days
with us, opened up their home to us, laughed with us and shared their story with
grace and poise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Toilet Twinning helps fund the water and sanitation programme of
Tearfund, and when Tearfund first set up Community Health Clubs in the Mwandiga
area in 2012, Bawili was among the first to join. She never missed a
meeting; she always arrived first. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">When the group voted in their first president, Bawili was the
obvious choice. She encouraged villagers to build their own toilet, one by one
– even though she wasn’t able to build one herself. ‘Don’t look at me,’ she’d
say. ‘I can’t afford a toilet but you must do this for your family’s health and
safety.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">So the group voted unanimously to build Bawili a toilet. A
year ago, members gathered materials and dug it together. Bawili brought
the water each day and helped make the bricks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Now her toilet is her pride and joy. ‘My toilet brings us freedom,
privacy and dignity as a family. We used to feel shame when we had people visit
us and we didn’t have a toilet for them to use. People would shout abuse at us
as we walked to the bush. I am so thankful and so happy to have a toilet. It is
a big relief.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-30NzoVLjBpo/V5I5RfVnYII/AAAAAAAAAqk/MhLIcsylaD8GxPFk7tRkrc__fgRhb0XlACLcB/s1600/DRC%2BBawili%2Bsmaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-30NzoVLjBpo/V5I5RfVnYII/AAAAAAAAAqk/MhLIcsylaD8GxPFk7tRkrc__fgRhb0XlACLcB/s400/DRC%2BBawili%2Bsmaller.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bawili (centre), with her family and their toilet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Now, when the Community Health Club meets under the trees each Sunday,
the members open with a song they have written themselves:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">‘Community, we must build a toilet <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Community, we must have a bathroom <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Community, we must wash our hands with soap or ash <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Community, we must have a rubbish pit <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">To protect our health.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP16188nioQ"><b>Listen to
Mwandiga’s Community Health Club’s toilet song</b></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">During our time in Mwandiga, we would get many impromptu renditions of
the song as the children crowding around us would start to sing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">DRC remains one of the poorest countries in Africa. There is no
infrastructure, no rule of law. There are fears that President Joseph Kabila
may call off the elections scheduled for November. If he does, civil war may
follow.</span> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">And yet, there is</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> hope. You</span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> can see it and touch it in Mwandiga. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The community have come together, learnt together and discovered that
they have the power to improve life for their families. They don’t need to wait
for the government to act. They don’t sit around, hoping that another NGO might
turn up to build a school, or hand out food. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">As members of a Community Health Club, they can all see what happens
when <i>they</i> take charge of their families’ futures. They all
talk about feeling safer, and having less disease now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">And they all talk about the day they built their toilet – and restored
dignity to their household. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">They may not know what the future holds. But they believe it will be
better than their past. Their toilets are an important first step in the
right direction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Meet Bawili and
Ebinda for yourself: </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYOuM9vSW_0&feature=youtu.be">watch our Big Relief film</a> </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">And why not </span></b><a href="http://www.toilettwinning.org/on-a-roll-/big-relief/"><b><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">plan your do for a loo</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> for World Toilet Day on November 19?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-26785219419837747712016-04-26T16:29:00.000+01:002016-04-26T16:34:28.497+01:00The Isle of Man’s alternative TT<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><i><br /></i></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><i>What possesses someone to drive around the Isle of
Man for hours, with a toilet perched on their car roof? Toilet Twinning
champion Rosemary Clarke and our CEO Lorraine Kingsley come clean…</i></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Manx residents were caught
unawares by the scene that greeted them that sunny spring morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">A van topped with a
toilet and decorated with loo brushes, balloons and bunting wound its merry way
through towns and villages across the island for a full seven hours, before coming
to a halt outside the Tynwald.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gY_FsPxJ6CE/Vx-EWNtTx8I/AAAAAAAAAp8/1rFFUYRLDS0cLz21RUGHyDC0PZ5jDgQEwCLcB/s1600/IMG_0637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x_pqIxrP2eQ/Vx-EPaVgt7I/AAAAAAAAAp4/9Q8Ru3jQxkcn-6q1OLjjqBebIrvvbuUhwCLcB/s1600/IoM%2BPaul%2BCrane%2BMarown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Twenty-eight times over
the course of the day, the Toilet Tour-ists parked up, dived out and rushed to
the loo.</span><br />
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It was not a case of
overactive bladders. Rather they were marking a world first: the Isle of Man becoming
our first-ever </span><a href="http://www.toilettwinning.org/on-a-roll-/become-a-toilet-twinned-town/"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Toilet Twinned Island</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C-kXDQgtJGc/Vx-EekJW4gI/AAAAAAAAAqE/uuR4a8Pd7Skvjh5WV_oVFUl8-PZEVHM3wCLcB/s1600/IoM%2BToday%2Bphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C-kXDQgtJGc/Vx-EekJW4gI/AAAAAAAAAqE/uuR4a8Pd7Skvjh5WV_oVFUl8-PZEVHM3wCLcB/s400/IoM%2BToday%2Bphoto.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Toilet Tour reaches Douglas. Photo: Isle of Man Today</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">'It’s not often you get invited into people’s homes
to look at their loos or drive around in a toilet-topped van!’ says Rosemary <i>(pictured front right, above)</i>. ‘But
it was marvellous to see the enthusiasm of all the twinners and to be able to
celebrate our new status as the world’s first Toilet Twinned Island.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Over the past five years, more than 130 toilets
have been twinned across the Island, in schools, businesses, churches and
offices. Our Toilet Twinned awards are given to special communities which go
above and beyond to twin toilets and work together to make a difference.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The earliest recorded toilet twins on the Island go
right back to January 2011. Then, Manx twinning was given fresh impetus by
Rosemary Clarke and colleagues at the </span><a href="http://www.oneworldcentreiom.org/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">One
World Centre</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> in St Johns when they launched a ‘Twin your
toilet’ campaign with Churches Alive in Man during One World Week in 2014. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yfX91pBzwVM/Vx-EqJQrNDI/AAAAAAAAAqI/bysG-IUqNnoLvzxBSjd8jqk-HAmDyM1HgCLcB/s1600/Knockaloe%2BBeg%2Bfarm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yfX91pBzwVM/Vx-EqJQrNDI/AAAAAAAAAqI/bysG-IUqNnoLvzxBSjd8jqk-HAmDyM1HgCLcB/s320/Knockaloe%2BBeg%2Bfarm.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Knockaloe Beg Farm in Peel - and guests</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">One World Centre itself has held various memorable
events including entering a Christmas ‘lav-a-tree’ made of loo brushes in the
Festival of Trees at Ronaldsway Airport in 2014.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">‘Twinning a toilet is such an easy thing to do and
can have such a positive impact on the health, education and economic prospects
of others. We’re delighted so many people have taken up the challenge and hope
the tour might inspire even more people to do so.'<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lorraine </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">(pictured second from right, front row, above) </i><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;">says, ‘It was truly heart-warming to
tour the island, and see so many individuals, schools, churches and business
people who were genuinely thrilled to be part of the day – and part of Toilet
Twinning’s mission. We received a warm welcome wherever we went – even with
people who let us run into their home and take a photo of them sitting on the
loo with their certificate!’ </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The Toilet Tour ended with a reception at the
Legislative Buildings in Douglas hosted by Ray Harmer </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">MHK
and David Anderson MLC. T</span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">oilet twinners were invited for a celebratory cuppa
and a slice of toilet-themed cake, as Lorraine presented the award to Ray
Harmer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1-7xlMB6Xao/Vx-EZUMCY1I/AAAAAAAAAqA/XaSc7cJxubUpk_Rzwx2ZbyeZhcMQTjL2wCLcB/s1600/IoM%2BHenry%2BBloom%2BNoble.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1-7xlMB6Xao/Vx-EZUMCY1I/AAAAAAAAAqA/XaSc7cJxubUpk_Rzwx2ZbyeZhcMQTjL2wCLcB/s320/IoM%2BHenry%2BBloom%2BNoble.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The TT reaches Henry Bloom Noble Primary School in Douglas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Of
course, becoming a Toilet Twinned Village, Town, City or Island is just the
start of the next leg of the journey: several Islanders have been inspired to
twin their toilets as a result of the Toilet Tour. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Manx
twinners are on a roll and don’t look like stopping any time soon, if Gladys
Corlett of Onchan Methodist Church is anything to go by.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">‘Both my grandmothers on the Island had
outside loos and I'm so thankful we don't have that today,’ says Gladys. ‘We
think that everybody deserves a decent toilet. Millions of people don't have
access to one – and that's totally unacceptable. If you can help in any way at
all, you feel you must.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Find out more about </span><a href="http://www.toilettwinning.org/on-a-roll-/become-a-toilet-twinned-town/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">how
your community can become Toilet Twinned</span></a></b></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-12077769117708144752016-03-10T15:07:00.002+00:002016-03-10T15:14:30.308+00:00A toilet is for life – or why sustainability matters<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">For toilet aficionados like us, there’s
nothing more tragic than the sight of a tapstand in disrepair or a toilet in
disuse. We’re determined not to let this happen…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Picture the scene. A line of abandoned loos, busy only with flies. Close
by, a cluster of children relieve themselves in the open air.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Sadly, it happens… but only when toilet-building statistics take
priority over sustainability.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It happens when a team in a 4 x 4 sweeps in, builds loos, drills a borehole
perhaps, and speeds off again straight after the obligatory handover photos. A
month later, the new latrines are filthy, and people go back to relieving
themselves outside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">We want to ensure that every toilet or tapstand we install is still
being used and properly maintained a year later… and into perpetuity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">As our water and sanitation adviser, Frank Greaves, says, ‘<b>No one refuses a new latrine for their
household</b>.’ But, unless people really grasp the life-transforming impact of
proper sanitation, clean water and simple things like handwashing with soap, projects
are money down the drain. Not on our watch…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6RBhFHL5ono/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6RBhFHL5ono?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;">Watch our short film about sustainability</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Sustainability has two key ingredients: buy-in and behaviour change. In
other words, if people realise the importance of</span><span class="msoIns" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><ins cite="mailto:Tearfund" datetime="2016-03-09T16:43"> </ins></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">proper
sanitation for themselves in the first place and are willing to invest in it, good
hygiene habits are likely to stick.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">One key tool our partners use to help ‘trigger’ a desire for toilets is
the gloriously named ‘defecation walk’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Essentially, they invite villagers to walk with them around the
community and point out the places where they relieve themselves. Through
gentle questioning, they help people see the health risks for themselves, as Frank
Greaves explains.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">‘It’s not about blaming or embarrassing people or telling them what to
do: it’s simply about facilitating a process through which people are
encouraged to reflect on their own (and their communal) sanitation behaviour: disgust,
revulsion, even shock, all play a part. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">‘If the process is facilitated well, a real desire for change takes root.
Sometimes, pointing out the simple fact that their children play very near a
place where people defecate is enough to trigger the change.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HkcUM86rZr0/VuGI0WkFtcI/AAAAAAAAAoo/vFEN2YOfSM8/s1600/Uganda%2BSusan%2Bhandwashing%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HkcUM86rZr0/VuGI0WkFtcI/AAAAAAAAAoo/vFEN2YOfSM8/s400/Uganda%2BSusan%2Bhandwashing%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="266" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Susan has learnt about handwashing at school</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The importance of sustainability is all too clear for our Ugandan
partner, North Kigezi and Kinkiizi Dioceses (NKKD), which works in some of the
poorest villages in the impoverished south-west of the country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Previous state-led sanitation projects in Uganda have failed: latrines
quickly fell into disuse because there was no local ownership. Child mortality
linked to poor sanitation remains high.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">So NKKD has refocused its work to make sustainability a priority – by
placing a strong emphasis on local buy-in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Its approach is to identify families who are particularly receptive to
their sanitation and hygiene messages, and to equip them to lead by example. So
their houses become ‘demonstration homes’ with a proper latrine, clothes lines,
dish-drying rack, handwashing tippy tap and bins – so that these families can
model good hygiene to their neighbours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">In one village, Kabirago, the number of toilets has almost doubled since
NKKD began work there. Now three-quarters of households have their own toilet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It also harnesses ‘pester power’: installing toilets and tippy-taps in
school and teaching children about handwashing with soap so they will nag their
parents to have the same facilities at home.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kudB4UtOo3U/VuGI5BwVpMI/AAAAAAAAAos/Q4M3O7TruDk/s1600/Uganda%2BKenneth%2Bheadteacher%2B%2526%2BMarius%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kudB4UtOo3U/VuGI5BwVpMI/AAAAAAAAAos/Q4M3O7TruDk/s400/Uganda%2BKenneth%2Bheadteacher%2B%2526%2BMarius%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Marius (right) with the headteacher of a school <br />where NKKD has built toilets</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Creating a sense of ownership is vital if the community goes on to
install shared facilities since these too must be properly maintained. So in
any community project -– whether it’s a gravity flow pipeline or a school
toilet block – NKKD insists that even the poorest of local communities
contribute 15 per cent of the cost, either in cash or labour. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">As NKKD Sustainability Mobiliser Marius Katanguka says: ‘Before, there
would be breakages and nobody would be able to take care of them or nobody
would be concerned.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">NKKD also works hard to ensure behaviour change is long term. In some
communities it has encouraged people to draw up local by-laws relating to
sanitation and it makes regular return visits to families to help embed good
habits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">And all this matters of course because, as Marius says, it’s the
cumulative benefits of long-term use of proper sanitation and clean water that
give families the best chance of breaking out of poverty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">‘In the long term, [people’s] economic status [will improve] because the
money that used to be spent in hospital is going to be saved to improve on
their livelihoods,’ says Marius.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-27882346210088038412015-10-16T09:42:00.001+01:002015-10-16T10:15:22.375+01:00How toilets make you smarter<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Forget your Carol
Vorderman <i>Maths genius</i> manual. Sack
the private Latin tutor. All you really need to get ahead in class is… a toilet,
<i>writes CEO Lorraine Kingsley. </i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Ok, maybe not in
Britain today. But it’s certainly true in Uganda, as 14-year-old Bridget will
tell you…</span></b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iKtXv-RvK_8/ViC1PBdqAKI/AAAAAAAAAnc/TDtzOOZnkgg/s1600/Uganda%2BBridget%2Bin%2Bdoorway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iKtXv-RvK_8/ViC1PBdqAKI/AAAAAAAAAnc/TDtzOOZnkgg/s400/Uganda%2BBridget%2Bin%2Bdoorway.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Bridget at her home in south-west Uganda</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The fact that Bridget is still in school is something of a miracle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Uganda has one of the highest primary school drop-out rates in the
world: only one in three Ugandan children completes primary education. And
Bridget lives in one of the poorest parts of a poor country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Her family are banana farmers – a particularly precarious existence,
thanks to a banana blight that has decimated crops for the past five years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Though state primary schooling is free, families still have to pay for
uniforms and notebooks – and Bridget’s family can only just afford to eat. Her
father was sick when we met him – because he didn’t have the £3 he needed to
get medical help.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PlsVeKTAAVQ/ViC3gjcAdwI/AAAAAAAAAoU/Ra7wp5xbJv0/s1600/Uganda%2BBridget%2B%2526%2Bfamily%2Boutside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PlsVeKTAAVQ/ViC3gjcAdwI/AAAAAAAAAoU/Ra7wp5xbJv0/s320/Uganda%2BBridget%2B%2526%2Bfamily%2Boutside.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Bridget and her family</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">There’s another barrier to children’s education here – and especially
for girls of Bridget’s age. Few schools have adequate toilets so boys and girls
alike regularly fall sick and miss class. And when girls reach puberty and
start their periods, they start missing school more often. Many drop out altogether.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9Y1-Z0IR7ZY/ViC1O-UJYsI/AAAAAAAAAng/sPIEc4lfCVg/s1600/Uganda%2BBridget%2Bwith%2B10%2Byear%2Bold%2Bsis%2BLodeth%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">At Bridget’s school, Ndago Primary School in Rukungiri district of
south-west Uganda, about 20 girls used to drop out of school every year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bridget stayed put, but it’s not been easy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">‘Our old latrines were very disgusting, especially
in the rainy season,’ she says. ‘You’d feel sick and people would be retching,
because they were so smelly. We now have a very new pit latrine, which is
comfortable to use. It’s got no bad smell and has no flies.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The new toilet block for older pupils was installed by Toilet Twinning’s
partner, North Kigezi and Kinkiizi Diocese Watsan (NKKD).</span><br />
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</div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">It also has a
separate changing room, offering girls on their period somewhere private to
wash or change their clothes. In poor, rural communities like these, families
cannot afford sanitary towels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">‘Nearly all the girls wouldn’t come to school at all during their period
– so they would miss a week of school per month,’ says headteacher Kenneth
Mushoborozi. ‘This did affect their end-of-year grades.’</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9Y1-Z0IR7ZY/ViC1O-UJYsI/AAAAAAAAAng/sPIEc4lfCVg/s1600/Uganda%2BBridget%2Bwith%2B10%2Byear%2Bold%2Bsis%2BLodeth%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9Y1-Z0IR7ZY/ViC1O-UJYsI/AAAAAAAAAng/sPIEc4lfCVg/s320/Uganda%2BBridget%2Bwith%2B10%2Byear%2Bold%2Bsis%2BLodeth%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Bridget and younger sister Lodeth near the new school toilets</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">To his delight, more than 65 girls have enrolled at the school in the
three months since its new toilets were installed. The old toilets for younger
children have also been much improved, and NKKD Watsan has installed a water
butt for handwashing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The school held a special ceremony to celebrate their toilets, with singing and dancing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">We were there when the school’s new tapstand was unveiled, providing the
children with fresh drinking water for the first time. Before, children were on
a rota to trek 1km to collect from a stream. They missed class – for water contaminated
by animal and human waste.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The tap stand was connected to a gravity flow pipeline and the children
watched in silence as the tap turned on – then broke into spontaneous and
sustained applause. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The beauty of this approach to hygiene education is that it harnesses
‘pester power’. Or as, headteacher Kenneth puts it, ‘Because of what the
children have learnt at school, they will become ambassadors and teach their
parents.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">For Bridget, life at home remains very basic. She shares a bed with one
of her four sisters. All she owns is an exercise book for homework, a tin for
her pencils and a few clothes. Her prized possession is a shiny pink dress that
she wears for our arrival and the brief time we share with her family in the
tiny entrance area that doubles as the family sitting room.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hXfwNB160mI/ViC1Ox3bgLI/AAAAAAAAAnk/IxA2f-fpLxo/s1600/Uganda%2BBridget%2Bbest%2Bdress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hXfwNB160mI/ViC1Ox3bgLI/AAAAAAAAAnk/IxA2f-fpLxo/s320/Uganda%2BBridget%2Bbest%2Bdress.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Our photographer and I perch on a wooden bench while Bridget and her mum
and dad sit across from us on a sofa. The only other things in the room are a
small table and two old calendars decorating the bare mud walls.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">But change is coming. Our partner is now setting up ‘demonstration
homes’ in the village, which have a proper latrine, a tippy-tap for
handwashing, a drying rack for kitchen utensils and a line to dry clothes off
the ground.</span> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Such changes may sound modest but they’re key to keeping families heathy
– so parents are well enough to work their land and children don’t miss school.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bridget’s family lives opposite one of these model homes – and Bridget’s
a committed ambassador at home for all that she’s learnt about hygiene at
school. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">When I finish school I want to become a nurse,’ she says. ‘To achieve
this, I need to stay healthy.’<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s a toilet which has encouraged Bridget to dream
big – and it’s a toilet that has given her the first realistic chance of seeing
those dreams become real.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Want to meet Bridget for yourself? Watch our </span><a href="http://www.toilettwinning.org/what-is-toilet-twinning/" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">short film</span></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: -18pt;"> about her school
toilet block. </span><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></i></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-205766155032293192015-08-25T13:27:00.000+01:002015-08-25T13:27:15.005+01:00Calling all students...<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>If you think poor sanitation is bang out of order, we have a mission for you –
should you choose to accept it.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tired of being branded as bed-hogging tutorial-dodgers? We
know students are game-changers and world-shakers – and we have the evidence to
prove it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pjXW79MyUdo/VdxakELeMFI/AAAAAAAAAnI/SSnFGqsNj2s/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pjXW79MyUdo/VdxakELeMFI/AAAAAAAAAnI/SSnFGqsNj2s/s200/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="200" /></a>A group of students at the University of Warwick <i>(including, Jess Docherty, right) </i>went all
out for toilets in their final year – and twinned almost 50 toilets in the
Students’ Union. Others at Bristol and Durham universities also kicked
student stereotypes into touch by raising awareness and dosh for dunnies.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, inspired by their example, we went straight to the
bathroom – birthplace of all great ideas – and emerged with the germ of a big
new idea. (No, no, that’s a good thing, not a cause for soap.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>So here’s the
challenge: create a twinning team, twin lots of toilets at your place of study
and make yours a Toilet Twinned University or College. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the next few weeks, we can send you a student pack
containing all the info and resources you need to start twinning. There’ll also be advice on our website and we’re always on
hand to help you with everything from setting up on social media to getting
into the local papers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">Register your interest by emailing us on </span><a href="mailto:fundraising@toilettwinning.org" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 107%;">fundraising@toilettwinning.org</span></a><span style="background: white;"> (Sadly, we can’t send
you cake, though.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Crib sheets<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">To whet your appetite, let us show you what’s possible when a handful of
students get passionate about toilets…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Warwick Toil<span style="background-color: white;">et
Twinning team were a small but perfectly formed group of five students who
blended creativity, puns and some wacky ideas in a year-long fundraising
campaign. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jR4NJ_OySl0/VdxadX6VUFI/AAAAAAAAAmw/Z5d9oxXU-go/s1600/Warwick%2BTwinners%2Bbake%2Bsale.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jR4NJ_OySl0/VdxadX6VUFI/AAAAAAAAAmw/Z5d9oxXU-go/s1600/Warwick%2BTwinners%2Bbake%2Bsale.JPG" /></a></div>
Ring-leaders
Emily Boyce (<i>far left) </i>and Jess Docherty began by gaining the support of the Student
Union, the Student Council and the Christian Union – and soon earned themselves
a bit of a reputation on campus.<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
To mark
World Toilet Day (November 19), they organised a Big Squat – which involved a
relay team of students squatting for 12 hours solid in the main campus piazza.
Other events included a cake bake <i>(above)</i>, a second-hand clothes sale and an ‘Apoostic
Night’ when musician friends gave their time at a fundraising gig.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H2ma4Sften4/Vdxadf7QWkI/AAAAAAAAAm0/XOnK4Fz6p-Q/s1600/Warwick%2Btwinners%2Bas%2Btoilets.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H2ma4Sften4/Vdxadf7QWkI/AAAAAAAAAm0/XOnK4Fz6p-Q/s200/Warwick%2Btwinners%2Bas%2Btoilets.JPG" width="200" /></a>Jess and
Emily even dressed up as toilets <i>(right)</i> to collect spare change, laying their
reputations on the line for the noble cause of twinning. ‘We were very loud on
social media to the point where people knew us as “those toilet people”,’ says
Emily.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
But the cause
made it all worthwhile, says Jess. ‘We are both genuinely passionate about
international development so that made us want to give time to it. And people
were very generous…’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Meanwhile, students from Bristol University's School of Geographical
Sciences raised more than £360 at their annual Globe Ball to link their loo
with a latrine in Burundi.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">And students at Durham University twinned toilets in ten of
its colleges after student Lis Martin fired up her friends to tackle the poor
sanitation she’d experienced first-hand in Africa with Tearfund. At Lis’s
prompting, the Student Union passed a motion to twin a toilet from each college
with a loo in Burundi – then the Charities Committee and Lis organised a ‘rag
raid’ on the streets of Edinburgh, which raised £600.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Join us?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So you really can change the world, one toilet at a time.
And if you sign up some mates to help you, you can achieve a whole lot more. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s the same principle that Toilet Twinning follows at
grassroots level: we bring people in poor communities together to decide what
they want and how they are going to achieve it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And a Toilet Twinned University or Toilet Twinned College
campaign will work best when you form a team, pull together and get busy with
those toilet puns. Think about it: if you twin lots of toilets, you can
transform life for an entire village. Forever. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Definitely worth getting out of
bed for… even after a long night, erm, in the library.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-4565920461222396912015-03-19T14:12:00.000+00:002015-03-19T14:12:34.817+00:00Humanure: turning poop green<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For many, toilets are taboo and (ahem) human waste is
unspeakably off limits. But we at Toilet Twinning believe that our poop should
not be poo-pooed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In fact, it has huge untapped potential to revolutionise the
way the world farms and feeds its families – all thanks to the wonders of
composting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Already, Toilet Twinning partners in several countries,
including Uganda and the DRC, are installing ecosan toilets – miraculous
thunderboxes where our doodly-squit is composted and transformed into a soil
conditioner bursting with nutrients.<b>*</b>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Because, if it’s properly composted, human waste can become
‘humanure’, solving waste management issues, boosting agricultural yields and
sparing farmers the cost of expensive fertilisers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In countries such as Haiti, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-29217235">eco-san toilets
as a waste management system</a> helped contain the cholera outbreak that
followed the 2010 earthquake. And <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/gallery/2015/feb/27/bangladesh-toilet-waste-high-value-compost-in-pictures?CMP=share_btn_tw">pioneering
humanure projects in Bangladesh</a> promise new business opportunities as well
as improved harvests; here, plans to use humanure as an alternative cooking
fuel are good news for the environment too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YF5jd9SujDU/VQrTz2oKgzI/AAAAAAAAAlc/EayRoJDDt9Q/s1600/IMG_6986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YF5jd9SujDU/VQrTz2oKgzI/AAAAAAAAAlc/EayRoJDDt9Q/s1600/IMG_6986.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An eco-san toilet in Bihar, India</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Compost loos offer significant practical advantages over <a href="http://www.toilettwinning.org/serious-stuff/latrine-technology/">other
types of latrine</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span>in some contexts. Because in
most types of composting loo the pits are used cyclically – with some
sealed for decomposition while others are opened – they need not be dug so deep.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So the humanure revolution is gathering pace. But its
advocates do face some challenges. Understandably, many people are squeamish about
using human poo to grow food. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As Tearfund’s WASH Lead, Frank
Greaves, explains, it can take a great deal of time and persuasion to change
attitudes in the poor communities where we work if composting and the recycling
of human waste are not the norm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">‘We have to be really sensitive to cultural beliefs and
practices,’ says Frank, ‘but people are very excited about the potential of eco-san
toilets when they can see the difference that composting in this way can make
to their farming.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Once some people start using
composting latrines, the concept is promoted more widely, typically through ‘village
champions’ and ‘demonstrator households’, Frank explains.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5rk281kj31M/VQrT9JATyCI/AAAAAAAAAls/YY-Lw5vqF8A/s1600/Mandy%2Bwith%2Bher%2Bbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5rk281kj31M/VQrT9JATyCI/AAAAAAAAAls/YY-Lw5vqF8A/s1600/Mandy%2Bwith%2Bher%2Bbook.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mandy Burton reads from <i>The Loveliest Loo </i>at a workshop</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Toilet twinner and environmental artist <a href="http://www.mandyburtondesigns.com/">Mandy Burton</a> also understands people’s
initial qualms – but she is keen to help overcome them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mandy has just written <i>The
Loveliest Loo</i>, a children’s colouring book about a waterless composting
toilet, featuring the world’s first Toilet Twinned imaginary loo, no less. (Yes,
her beautifully drawn virtual loo is officially twinned with one in the DRC.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The book is a simple and witty account in verse of Pearl’s
first visit to a compost loo. The child’s wonder at these natural processes is
something that Mandy herself has never grown out of.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">‘I’m fascinated by the composting process: you shove all
this stuff in and out comes beautiful soil,’ says Mandy. ‘For me, composting
symbolises life, death and rebirth and it’s an absolutely magical process.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kkrUNsbdEIs/VQrUlku_l-I/AAAAAAAAAl0/r1JiI8LS700/s1600/Loveliest%2BLoo%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kkrUNsbdEIs/VQrUlku_l-I/AAAAAAAAAl0/r1JiI8LS700/s1600/Loveliest%2BLoo%2Bcover.jpg" height="320" width="224" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But there’s a deeper
concern underlying Mandy’s love of compost loos and it’s one Toilet Twinning shares:
environmental sustainability more generally.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">That’s what drew her
to become part of </span><a href="http://www.redfieldcommunity.org.uk/" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Redfield</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">, a housing
cooperative in Buckinghamshire devoted to permaculture and sustainable living.
Redfield is also home to </span><a href="http://lowimpact.org/" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">lowimpact.org</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">, a network of
organisations promoting similar values, which printed Mandy’s book. Mandy’s
imaginary loo was inspired by the compost loo at Pinfold Community Garden in
Barnsley, but Redfield has compost loos too (as well as more mainstream models),
which fertilise its orchard.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">‘It’s crazy that we use clean water to flush away our poo
when we know that it can very easily be transformed into a fantastic soil
conditioner,’ Mandy says. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And she makes a serious point. Almost a third of the water
we use in our homes is flushed down the loo. That’s about 2 billion litres of
fresh water flushed away <i>every day in the
UK alone</i>, </span>says <a href="http://www.waterwise.org.uk/pages/indoors.html">Waterwise</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vx6KUb6vLBE/VQrT4jfT67I/AAAAAAAAAlk/zKQyuc995vs/s1600/Loveliest%2BLoo%2Bcolouring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vx6KUb6vLBE/VQrT4jfT67I/AAAAAAAAAlk/zKQyuc995vs/s1600/Loveliest%2BLoo%2Bcolouring.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It could be some time before waterless dunnies or compost
loos become mainstream in the UK, though their star is rising. The fact they
need neither water nor sewerage makes them a very practical option in many
locations – <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jul/23/composting-toilets-a-growing-movement-in-green-disposal">from
allotments to golf courses to festivals such as Glastonbury</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For Mandy, there are more pressing reasons than mere
convenience.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">‘Compost loos are all about preserving resources and we
really must do that,’ she says. ‘I wanted to write something for children
because they are our future. They are the ones who are going to have to pick up
the pieces.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And, by the way, 2015 is the <a href="http://www.fao.org/resources/infographics/infographics-details/en/c/271187/">UN's
International Year of Soils</a>…</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white;">
<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="background: white;">
<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">*The science bit</span></b></div>
<div style="background: white;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Composting loos use
evaporation and natural decomposition to make wonders out of poo. Human faeces
in the presence of oxygen naturally breaks down into pathogen-free,
nutrient-rich compost, thanks to aerobic bacteria. Get the right balance
between oxygen, moisture, heat and organic material and you create the perfect
breeding ground for these micro-beasties.</span></div>
<div style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-33105621767956931412014-11-17T13:03:00.003+00:002014-11-17T13:03:50.458+00:00How women are leading the charge in India’s quiet revolution<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Women are leading the
charge in the big push for sanitation in rural India – and not for the reasons
you might expect. The threat of attack is prompting women to challenge
centuries-old tradition.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The women lurk in the shadows, peeping out from behind their
scarves, as we weave in and out of mud houses in remote villages in north-east
India.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They are elusive, evasive even – until we ask them about the
latrines we’ve come to photograph.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the mere mention of toilets,
they step forward and are keen to talk. Because here it is women who benefit
most from having a latrine – and in ways you might not expect. It is women who
are leading the charge in the quiet revolution unfolding in Bihar state.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ask them why they want toilets and
the answer is always the same.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
‘I built a toilet for my daughter
and daughter-in-law, and now they are safe,’ says Nirmala Devi, who lives in
Parsauni Baij. This mother of four has had to wait for a toilet till she was
‘over 60’. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b0X75Hko4A8/VGnu0rGp-nI/AAAAAAAAAks/Mmnj2kuhZQ4/s1600/Nirmala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b0X75Hko4A8/VGnu0rGp-nI/AAAAAAAAAks/Mmnj2kuhZQ4/s1600/Nirmala.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nirmala and husband Bishwanath in Parsauni Baij</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Women’s safety is a key driver
behind the big push for sanitation in these villages, led by Toilet Twinning
partner Discipleship Centre.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As in most poor, rural areas in
India, open defecation is still the norm. But while men happily squat by the
roadside in the early morning sun, culture dictates that women have to rise
before dawn or wait until dark to relieve themselves. They must not be seen.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
‘It’s very difficult for girls to
go outside in the darkness and they’re worried about snake bites and other
problems,’ says Nirmala.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That phrase, ‘other problems’, crops up often. It’s a
euphemism hinting at a very real threat. Attacks on women are far from
uncommon. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Widespread illiteracy and the lack of electricity mean that
women here did not hear reports of two teenage girls being raped and hanged in
Uttar Pradesh in May – even though the story sparked international outrage. The
girls were attacked as they went out in the dark to relieve themselves. But women
here in Sheohar district were already well aware of the risks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Close by, in Dumri village, Ranju Sharma is equally
enthusiastic about her latrine. Hers is a very modest affair with no roof as
yet – but it’s a statement of faith that life can get better.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Her husband is a mechanic who works away for much of time,
so Ranju is often left alone to bring up their two lively boys. Installing a latrine
last year ended their daily trek into the bushes behind their home.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
‘When I had to go outside, I used to be frightened,’ says
Ranju. ‘In the night, there are snakes and lots of other problems. My
children didn’t want to go outside either: they'd get dirty and have
diarrhoea… but not now.’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LM9UuDUZMRU/VGnsuyyGB-I/AAAAAAAAAkg/SnAJ5oOPwFg/s1600/Ranju%2Bin%2BSheohar%2BIndia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LM9UuDUZMRU/VGnsuyyGB-I/AAAAAAAAAkg/SnAJ5oOPwFg/s1600/Ranju%2Bin%2BSheohar%2BIndia.jpg" height="320" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ranju and sons, beside their latrine in Dumri</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Focusing on women is key to Discipleship Centre’s
strategy. It’s a bold move in these conservative, rural areas which are
traditionally beyond the reach of state-run programmes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Discipleship Centre works with different grassroots
organisations and many of the ‘community mobilisers’ these groups employ are
women. It’s their job to talk to people about the importance of proper
sanitation and encourage them to have a toilet.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rani is one of these mobilisers. She lives in Purnahiya, the
area where she works, so people know her and listen to what she has to say.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Away from male company, she speaks softly about the problems
women face without a proper toilet.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
‘Even if a woman has diarrhoea, she has to wait [until
dark],’ says Rani. ‘She does not eat and she keeps to herself all day and has
to wait until the evening. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
‘This makes her sick and causes problems like gas. It can
also cause lack of appetite, which is stress-induced. Sometimes, in an
emergency, she might dig a small hole and go in secret.’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F2prNYt3Buo/VGnu7I8DigI/AAAAAAAAAk0/XYNIvHSPbe0/s1600/Rani%2BIndia%2BNov%2B14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F2prNYt3Buo/VGnu7I8DigI/AAAAAAAAAk0/XYNIvHSPbe0/s1600/Rani%2BIndia%2BNov%2B14.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rani, community mobiliser for Purnahiya</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most women want a toilet, Rani says, but most families here
cannot afford one. Ranju’s toilet cost 9,000 Rupees (about £90), and she saved
£1 a month through a local savings group to help pay for it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As part of the government’s big push to end open defecation,
it is offering grants to help families install a toilet, but they have to apply
for funding retrospectively, with no guarantee their application will be
successful. Many can’t afford to take that risk.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Discipleship Centre’s approach encourages families to contribute finance and
labour towards their own toilet. This builds ‘ownership’, which in turn
promotes the all-important ‘behaviour change’. There have been many large-scale
latrine-building programme in India before but many fail, as people abandon
latrines and return to open defecation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Education is another key tool that Discipleship Centre and its local partners
are using to change attitudes for good. And in areas where there is widespread
illiteracy, this often means street theatre – with an interesting twist.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One drama sketch they use is a comedy, with a nod to an
earlier government campaign, <i>No Toilet,
No Bride. </i>Its message is clear: having a toilet makes men more attractive
to women. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In another, more sombre sketch, a community group have a
lively discussion about the pros and cons of toilets. Characters speak
energetically about the ‘fresh air and exercise’ that come with open defecation.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another asks, slowly, how they’d feel if their daughter was
attacked. ‘Society is not what it was…’ <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Encouraging communities to break with centuries-old
tradition and install latrines is hard work. But Discipleship Centre’s ever-positive Programme
Manager Jay Kumar insists change is possible: ‘We <i>can</i> change the game.’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For Jay’s colleague, Project Officer Dwijendra Mandal, it’s
just a question of patience and persistence. ‘When one person in a village has
a latrine, everyone wants one,’ says Mandal.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-42470790815827245632014-07-23T11:11:00.000+01:002015-05-07T21:59:20.126+01:00Of long drops and light bulbs<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Or
the long answer to the short question: <i>‘Does
it cost £60 to build a toilet…?’</i></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s a question we hear a lot, especially on
our stands at summer festivals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The short answer is ‘yes’. But the long
answer is much more interesting. Got a moment…?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When you stump up your £60 for a toilet
twin (thank you), you are not just paying for a latrine slab and a pit: you are
in fact lighting the touch paper to a slow-burning revolution. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The safe latrine on your certificate is in
fact the end result of a process that transforms the entire community. It’s a
process that takes time but it’s well worth the wait, as our <a href="http://www.toilettwinning.org/what-is-toilet-twinning/">new short film
from Nepal</a> explains.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B5HT1uWVG1Q/VUvR1E4zfVI/AAAAAAAAAmM/wCqTHzPiRpo/s1600/Himalayan%2Bfoothills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B5HT1uWVG1Q/VUvR1E4zfVI/AAAAAAAAAmM/wCqTHzPiRpo/s320/Himalayan%2Bfoothills.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Himalayan foothills. Photo: Ralph Hodgson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Our partner in Nepal could just drive into a village with a 4x4 loaded with materials and experts. They could just build toilets for people and drive off again. But they don’t, for very good reasons.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In fact, they start by bringing villagers together in workshops and encouraging them to join action groups focused on issues that concern the community, such as farming. Gently, they plant the idea that change is possible – and change lies in the community’s hands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Slowly, sensitively, they encourage communities to allow women to have a say in household decisions, often for the first time. It’s women and children who carry the heaviest burden in terms of collecting water and caring for the family – yet they often have no voice.Then, our partner brings men and women
together in small committees to look at water and sanitation. And it’s then,
when trust is established and confidence is growing, that they start to talk
about the link between health and sanitation…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">For
many, this is a revelation, a light bulb moment. Many simply have never known
why diarrhoea lays them low during the rainy season. They have never understood
why their children have fallen ill or died.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Suddenly, they understand. And when that
light comes on, they want a latrine. And they want to be the authors who
rewrite the community’s future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So then it’s the family, generally, who
build their own latrine. So they have the dignity of providing for themselves –
and ownership of what they’ve built.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A family who have understood the need for a
latrine and been empowered to build their own are much more likely to use it
and look after it. (That’s what sustainability is all about.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Bishwo, whom you’ll meet in <a href="http://www.toilettwinning.org/what-is-toilet-twinning/">our new short
film</a>, is a great example. He had never understood why his mother and
daughter had had to be hospitalised in Kathmandu with diarrhoea-related
illnesses – until our partner taught him about the link between health and
sanitation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E2865MA2j8E/U8-HhDVD1kI/AAAAAAAAAkI/3Kbh_gumorw/s1600/Bishwo+outside+latrine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E2865MA2j8E/U8-HhDVD1kI/AAAAAAAAAkI/3Kbh_gumorw/s1600/Bishwo+outside+latrine.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Bishwo outside his latrine. Photo: Ralph Hodgson</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
Then, he didn’t hesitate to sell two of his
goats to be able to pay for a permanent latrine. He was so proud that he held
an open day so his community could come and see for themselves – and even try
it out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Now, the only infection spreading is
enthusiasm for latrines. Several neighbours have built their own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As Bishwo says, ‘This toilet is my
guarantee of reaching old age now.’ That’s what your £60 pays for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We believe strongly that education is the
key to ending poverty. When people have knowledge, they can make informed
choices about their lives. And bring about change for the long term.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In some places, of course, this approach
isn’t possible. So in conflict areas (such as parts of the DRC) or places hit
by a natural disaster (such as cyclone-damaged areas of Bangladesh), we have to
‘go operational’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">That’s when our founder charities, Cord and
Tearfund, send in people with water and sanitation expertise to dig wells and
build latrines. They still run hygiene education workshops for communities
where they’re working, to ensure that people understand the need for handwashing
and keeping clean. This is sometimes how we <i>have</i>
to work to save lives, but we’d rather not start from there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We believe that working with local
organisations, with communities, to educate, equip and empower households to
find their own way out of poverty is far better. (In development circles, it’s
known as <b>community-led total sanitation</b>.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It works, it lasts and it’s far more
cost-effective.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Which brings us back to the original
question… <i>‘Does it cost £60 to build a
toilet?’<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In communities hit by disaster or conflict
where we ‘go operational’, the cost of providing a latrine is far higher than
£60. In places where we work through local organisations, the cost is lower.
Overall, the average cost per household for a water and sanitation programme –
across the 25 countries where Tearfund and Cord work – is about £60.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So, as you can see, your £60 goes far
further than just digging a latrine: that’s just the bit we can show in the
photo on your certificate. In fact, your money sparks an amazing chain reaction
that is changing entire communities for ever. One light bulb moment, one
latrine at a time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w20L3DmoEyM/U8-HvJ283YI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/WffjV25SPNs/s1600/Nepal+group+shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w20L3DmoEyM/U8-HvJ283YI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/WffjV25SPNs/s1600/Nepal+group+shot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bishwo's village. Photo: Ralph Hodgson</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2Nepal28.394857 84.12400821.2563835 73.796859500000011 35.5333305 94.4511565tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-58033405436409520512014-06-09T13:55:00.001+01:002014-06-09T13:55:51.748+01:00A love affair with toilets<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #073763;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #073763;">Toilet
Twinning has recently teamed up with London Loo Tours, which now offers the opportunity
to twin a toilet and have a private tour</span><span lang="EN-US">. We share an obsession with toilets and a slightly wacky sense of humour. </span><span style="color: #073763;">Here, toilet plunger in hand, Rachel
Erickson, the Loo Tour Lady, explains her passion for the privy…</span></span><span lang="EN-US"> </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I spend most of my
life thinking and talking about toilets. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">People often ask
me why. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s a long story…
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When I moved to
London in 2011 to study for my MA at the Royal Central School of Speech and
Drama, I never could have imagined the path my career would take. I came partly
because I loved London and partly because I saw this as the best place to pursue
a theatrical career. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PLHJi62Gie4/U5Wrmo6Jt2I/AAAAAAAAAjc/t04no7Dm6ss/s1600/Loo+Tours+Toilet+Master.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PLHJi62Gie4/U5Wrmo6Jt2I/AAAAAAAAAjc/t04no7Dm6ss/s1600/Loo+Tours+Toilet+Master.jpg" height="320" width="242" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The toilet
obsession started very innocently, with a personal mission to avoid the 30p and
upwards charges at many public conveniences across the capital. I started learning where the free ones were,
and noticing the difference in price at different spots. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It would have
remained an innocent joke had I not decided to become a tour guide. I happened
to mention my toilet obsession in a biography and my interviewer responded by
saying, ‘And you should definitely do a public toilet tour of London. Definitely.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Being a curious
person, I started to wonder if I could actually pull it off. Despite being a
regular user, I hadn’t thought a lot about toilets other than knowing where
they were and how much they cost. I took
them for granted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And so began the
long journey down the toilet path… I researched, chatted with providers, and
read every book I could get my hands on, and soon found that the topic was a
bigger one than I had ever imagined. The tours grew surprisingly quickly, from
something I had thought would be a one-off joke to them becoming my main
occupation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4P-YuP2XBko/U5WruxdNHrI/AAAAAAAAAjk/akHvQOmUvhU/s1600/London+Tour+xEyaISCCN6dw-5yEBKnl99mqzE0,ItMYuhGwVPdHRLuSpHMStFuGylOmjvjMWmx0h0zn1Qs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4P-YuP2XBko/U5WruxdNHrI/AAAAAAAAAjk/akHvQOmUvhU/s1600/London+Tour+xEyaISCCN6dw-5yEBKnl99mqzE0,ItMYuhGwVPdHRLuSpHMStFuGylOmjvjMWmx0h0zn1Qs.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also found out
just how important toilets actually are. While paying 30p may be a frustration,
I know now that we are among the privileged where toilets are concerned.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">One of the
highlights of my career has been attending the 2013 World Toilet Summit in
Solo, Indonesia. The toilet summit takes place in a different country every
year and brings together entrepreneurs, academics, city planners, manufacturers,
environmental activists and an odd assortment of others like myself who don’t
quite fit a category. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The mission is to
explore solutions to </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">the global sanitation crisi</span><span lang="EN-US">s
that affects approximately 40 per cent of the world’s population. There are
still today 2.5 billion people worldwide who lack access to safe sanitation. It
is one of the world’s biggest killers, hitting women, children and the elderly
the hardest. A lack of toilets can also have severe economic impacts too,
leading to a less educated and less productive workforce.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Yet, it doesn’t
get talked about. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The reason is largely
down to the webs of taboos and inhibitions around bodily functions: toilets are
a tough subject to talk about. They aren’t as sexy as water, for example. A picture of a politician turning on a new
water pump is more attractive than using a new toilet (not to mention the
potential for puns!) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The driving force
behind the Toilet Summit is Jack Sim, also known at Mr Toilet, who founded the
World Toilet Organization in 2001. He said something during the conference that
has stuck with me ever since: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TuO9EjxiBKo/U5Wr6qnIEhI/AAAAAAAAAjw/_DWpUJZyifw/s1600/London+Loo+logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TuO9EjxiBKo/U5Wr6qnIEhI/AAAAAAAAAjw/_DWpUJZyifw/s1600/London+Loo+logo.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>‘If you can
laugh at yourself, you can get others to laugh at you. And if you can get them
to laugh, then you can get them to listen.’<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is where I
hope that my tours can, in some small way, bridge the gap between humour and
action. They remain fairly light-hearted, with history, gossip and a small
smattering of bad puns. But it is also a chance for me to provoke people to
dive a bit deeper, and to plant seeds. As I develop Loo Tours, my mission is to
connect with organisations working in sanitation so that some of those seeds
can grow.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">At heart, I think
we are all closet toilet enthusiasts. Everyone has a story, and the most
rewarding days of the tour are the ones where 15 people who were total
strangers at the start spend an hour afterwards in the pub talking about the subject.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If we can harness
this secret enthusiasm, then we will be well on the path to positive change! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Toilet Twinning is
a brilliant initiative, and I am very pleased that they have agreed to partner
with me on tours. Twinning a toilet is a simple and fun way, not only to
support education around safe sanitation, but also to spread the word about
your contribution and perhaps encourage others to do the same. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span lang="EN-US">Loo Tours is currently offering the opportunity to twin your toilet
and get a private tour (</span></i><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://lootours.com/home/tours-for-a-cause/toilet-twinning.html"><i>http://lootours.com/home/tours-for-a-cause/toilet-twinning.html</i></a><i>)</i></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"></span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US">Twitter: @londonlootours<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US">Facebook: LondonLooTours<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US">Blog: Doingyourbusiness.blogspot.co.uk<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-34819921467639814722014-04-16T22:53:00.001+01:002015-05-07T22:02:10.294+01:00To the ends of the earth...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Toilet Twinning's CEO Lorraine Kingsley travels to the top of the world (almost) to meet a man whose loo has changed his entire village.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We negotiate six river-bed crossings,
countless potholes and a gazillion hairpin bends during the four-hour drive
from Kathmandu… then suddenly the village of Talakhu swings into view.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Perched among the sweeping foothills of the
Himalayas, it looks out on lush lime-green terraces of wheat, maize and rice
snaking up the steep hillsides.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UYjjy8LNDAw/U070nglR9sI/AAAAAAAAAi0/s5hBI9qFqI0/s1600/_RHX9993+(1)+terraces.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UYjjy8LNDAw/U070nglR9sI/AAAAAAAAAi0/s5hBI9qFqI0/s1600/_RHX9993+(1)+terraces.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To the ends of the earth: the Himalayan foothills. Photo: Ralph Hodgson</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s getting late so we retire to our
overnight accommodation, which is a bed in a corrugated iron lean-to attached
to the side of a home. The shower is cold water in a bucket, in a communal area
outdoors.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Early the next morning, after a breakfast
of sweet tea and omelette, we set off across more river beds and potholes to
reach a simple homestead about an hour away. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here, a grandfather sits on a rattan mat on
his terracotta-coloured verandah, with his three-year-old grandson on his knee.
The little boy laughs at his grandfather’s whispers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kancha, who’s 52, knows why we have come.
He points proudly to his concrete latrine: the first one to be built in the
village. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Like his neighbours, he learnt about the
link between sanitation and health when Toilet Twinning's partner started working in Risthabot three years ago. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kancha is now a member of an association
that has brought clean drinking water to the village and ended the daily trek
to the polluted stream for water. Reaping the benefits of good health, he and
his wife, Shaili, work side by side on their land, harvesting wheat and maize,
and tending to the cauliflowers, cabbages, onions and garlic in their vegetable
garden. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"></span><br /><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBcpzZwcQJE/U071E-HZFrI/AAAAAAAAAi8/fHL-e3CiajY/s1600/Kancha+with+wife+Shaili+&+grandson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBcpzZwcQJE/U071E-HZFrI/AAAAAAAAAi8/fHL-e3CiajY/s1600/Kancha+with+wife+Shaili+&+grandson.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kancha with his wife, Shaili, and their grandson. Photo: Ralph Hodgson</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"></span><br /><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Their life seems appealingly simple, even
successful. But there’s a sobering back story.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kancha starts to tell us about the two
children he lost. He believes they’d still be alive today if he’d learnt 20
years ago about the link between open defecation and diarrhoeal diseases. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And then it hits you. Kancha is among the
millions of parents who experience the terrible reality of that stark
sanitation statistic: every minute, three children under the age of five die from
diarrhoea-related diseases. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘We used to use the corner of our land or
the nearby stream for defecation,’ he says. ‘Before, there were flies all
around and my family were sick all the time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘Our five-year-old daughter died of
dysentery. And then, in the same year, we lost our three-year-old son after he
had diarrhoea for a week. We didn’t know about health and sanitation at that
time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘But [Toilet Twinning's partner] taught us about the
importance of building a toilet. Since then, we can go two or three months, or
even six months, without a single instance of diarrhoea.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xpg_igQkY48/U071amBhCXI/AAAAAAAAAjE/fOeQ9GWv_V4/s1600/_RHX0001+(2)+potholes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xpg_igQkY48/U071amBhCXI/AAAAAAAAAjE/fOeQ9GWv_V4/s1600/_RHX0001+(2)+potholes.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Negotiating rivers and potholes to reach Kancha. Photo: Ralph Hodgson</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kancha built his toilet two years ago, for
a cost of 52,000 rupees (about £320), thanks to a loan from his relatives. He
carried all the stones and dug the pit himself – to keep costs down – but still
needed the loan to pay for pipes, roofing and cement, and for a local labourer
to help him build the walls.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Inspired, 11 other households in the
village have followed suit and built their own latrine. Gradually, the health
of the whole village is improving.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The benefits they are enjoying now only
underline the price they used to pay for poor sanitation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Before, Kancha and Shaili were so often
sick that their land would lie fallow. All their money went on medicines and
healthcare. On two occasions, they were only able to harvest half their crops,
because they were too ill to get out of bed. They had to take out loans to buy
food – loans that took two or three years to repay.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ojqlwECp3Tw/U0729pBBg-I/AAAAAAAAAjQ/goVp2GhmNEY/s1600/Himalayan+foothills.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The stunning backdrop to Kancha's life story. Photo: Ralph Hodgson</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ojqlwECp3Tw/U0729pBBg-I/AAAAAAAAAjQ/goVp2GhmNEY/s1600/Himalayan+foothills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There was fallout for the three elder
children’s education too; none went to secondary school. ‘Every month, my
children would miss at least a week of school,’ says Kancha. One of his
grown-up sons lives at home and helps with the farming; his two oldest children
work in the city as taxi drivers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But Kancha’s youngest son, who’s 18, and
his only daughter, who’s 16, are still at school – in year 12 and year ten
respectively. He dreams big for these two. He hopes that improving heath will
bring better job opportunities, and the chance to break free of the poverty
that has dogged the family for generations. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘I think it is possible for my children to
have a prosperous and happy life, as they know how to keep their environment
clean and healthy,’ says Kancha. ‘With this knowledge, I do not think they will
have to endure the difficulties that Shaili and I have encountered.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-29488579196389792482014-03-21T21:14:00.000+00:002014-03-21T21:16:34.385+00:00A thing or two they did for us<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘A mighty army pounding its way across Europe, a relentless and brutal pursuit of power, the creation of one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen.’</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-c91ac45d-e675-9a54-8744-fd3217f3a84d" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is how the Roman advance is described on the website of our friends at </span><a href="http://www.vindolanda.com/Home.htm" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Vindolanda Trust</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in Northumberland, who have just twinned their latrines, ancient and modern, to mark World Water Day (22 March). </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hP-2ceICpfA/UyyqrikQbeI/AAAAAAAAAik/IFWTAbIGubY/s1600/Look+what+is+on+my+spongia!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hP-2ceICpfA/UyyqrikQbeI/AAAAAAAAAik/IFWTAbIGubY/s1600/Look+what+is+on+my+spongia!.jpg" height="224" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vindolanda: Sit on the loo, chat, compare spongia, as you do</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Setting aside the brutality and focusing on the more positive aspects of ‘what the Romans did for us’, decent sanitation has to be up there on the list.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Dr Andrew Birley, Director of Excavations at The Vindolanda Trust, explained, ‘Two thousand years ago, at the fort and town of Vindolanda, on the very edge of the Roman Empire, you could go to the loo in safety and with the confidence of using a well-built, engineered, clean and safe toilet no matter who you were. This is one of the most important legacies the Romans left behind in Britain, and a foundation of their great civilisation.’</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But recently the UK press has been full of stories of public toilet closures, public toilets being sold off to private developers, public toilets being converted into houses … you get the picture. It’s the fallout from our current financial position, as councils seek to cut budgets. It’s easier to find a public loo in China than it is in Britain, notwithstanding the (patchy) help from commendable community toilet schemes.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This homegrown situation pales into insignificance, however, beside the scandal that there are STILL 2.5 billion people in the world without access to any decent loo, whether public or private. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘The ancient Romans would have been appalled’ Dr Birley said, and what’s more, he adds, they would have wanted to ‘do something about it’. </span></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s why The Vindolanda Trust have grabbed the opportunity to make a difference, and twinned their toilets to help flush away poverty overseas. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the Romans might have commented ‘</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">amor vincit omnia’ (love conquers all).</span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-66408367283890544912014-02-21T16:47:00.001+00:002014-02-21T16:47:51.767+00:00Shut that door!<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many parents of small children find the constant demands of their young ones can sometimes get a bit trying. The final straw can often be the inability to go to the toilet, shut and lock the door, and claim a few minutes peace and privacy. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4fc23273-554f-098d-f61b-e1babc370a26" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For millions of people in the world, there is never any privacy for these daily bodily functions. Open defecation is their only option. So along with improved health and hygiene, twinning your toilet with a latrine overseas is an act that can bestow a more intangible - but arguably no less important - benefit: a private space to respond to the call of nature.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ONXNkPBW1gg/UweBYp8y0oI/AAAAAAAAAiI/I_UtBYMCb2Q/s1600/privacy+RS44620_IMG_3857-2-web.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ONXNkPBW1gg/UweBYp8y0oI/AAAAAAAAAiI/I_UtBYMCb2Q/s1600/privacy+RS44620_IMG_3857-2-web.JPG" height="309" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A room without a view: Ugandan toilets with doors that shut.<br />Photo: Vernon Kingsley/Toilet Twinning</td></tr>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Different cultures, of course, have different attitudes to privacy, and the need for privacy also varies between individuals. Many of us will know the irritation of having our personal space invaded, for example when someone stands ‘too close for comfort’ while talking to you. Others are happy to put almost all their emotions and actions out on social media.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And where does our need for privacy end and the negativity of loneliness begin? A high-rise close-the-door culture where relationships become increasingly virtual, accessed through technology rather than face to face, is not a comfortable vision for the future. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But wherever we would draw our personal line between the private and the public, there are some actions that we would all prefer to do behind closed doors, given the choice.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In her autobiography ‘Daughter of the River’, Hong Ying describes her youthful experience of communal latrines in 20th century China. Defecation, she said, was ‘no easy matter, with all those eyes fixed on your exposed private parts...Standing in the queue made me nervous; so did the squatting itself.’ Constipation became a way of life.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She would use a book or a bag to gain a little privacy, but that brought its own problems: ‘I didn’t want people in the queue thinking I was intentionally shielding my private parts from view. The last thing I wanted was for those sharp-tongued gossipy women to start saying I had some kind of problem. What did I have that was so great that I wouldn’t let them see it?’</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LFEk3c5bMVg/UweBOhBsb8I/AAAAAAAAAh8/IjCerphYHpA/s1600/Chinese-toilet-in-Beijing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LFEk3c5bMVg/UweBOhBsb8I/AAAAAAAAAh8/IjCerphYHpA/s1600/Chinese-toilet-in-Beijing.jpg" height="283" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Modern-day public toilets in Beijing, China. At home, toilet facilities are less likely to be shared.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">Public toilets without doors are still common in China, but the massive home building programme has brought private facilities to many if not most. And an occasional use of doorless cubicles, with their rudimentary but welcome plumbing, is one thing. But a daily quest for a private piece of ground, or having to delay defecation until darkness arrives, is quite another. </span><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many people in the world’s poorest countries (a club to which China emphatically does not belong) face this reality. That’s why, when you twin your toilet you are giving a wonderful gift. You are helping people to understand about hygiene, handwashing and the dangers of open defecation for sure; you are certainly helping them gain the skills to construct latrines; but you are also giving them the blessed relief of little bit of privacy every day of their lives.</span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-62957645262908738992014-01-06T10:52:00.001+00:002014-01-06T10:55:12.270+00:00Camera-Khazi<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Photographer Richard Hanson talks about his obsession with photographing toilets, and his recent assignment in Ethiopia for Toilet Twinning:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m-UhAd3v3jM/UsqHN4Dz1iI/AAAAAAAAAhw/O0wy-XAQHN0/s1600/small+Copy+of+2166_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m-UhAd3v3jM/UsqHN4Dz1iI/AAAAAAAAAhw/O0wy-XAQHN0/s1600/small+Copy+of+2166_001.jpg" height="320" width="254" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toilet Twinning's advertisement as it appeared in National Geographic magazine</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">Working all over the UK as a freelance photographer, I’ve noticed hundreds of public toilets have been closed over the past 20 years. I started taking photos of these tiny, quirky monuments to civic pride and convenience. I’ve pulled over at the side of busy dual carriageways and even turned the car around while on a tight deadline just so I don’t miss some gem.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But there’s a tension between my strange obsession with photographing semi-derelict public toilets, and the seriousness of some of the things I’ve seen while I’ve been working overseas. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first time I really realised how crucial the lack of a good toilet can be was when I travelled to the refugee camps in Goma (then in Zaire, but now known as Democratic Republic of Congo) during the genocide in Rwanda, in 1994. Because the camps were being built on solidified lava fields, no one could dig pit latrines, and in the first week or ten days of the refugees’ arrival, more than 30,000 people died of cholera caused by the appallingly insanitary conditions. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" />On a recent trip to Ethiopia for Toilet Twinning, my brief was to get a spectacular shot of a toilet in a rural setting. It had to be something that would be good enough to run as a Toilet Twinning advertisement in the National Geographic magazine.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the first day we found a rather nice latrine near a group of houses, with a view across to the other side of the valley. We agreed that it was worth coming back to catch the latrine in the golden rays of glorious dawn light. So, stretching the good will of our hosts to the limit, we set off at 5am the next morning, and hiked a mile across the (rather steep) valley. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We set up the photographic kit in a field with a lovely clear view of the latrine, but instead of the stunning mist-cresting dawn of my dreams, we had an almost English murky greyness. Just the flattest light you can imagine. But we’d come a long way, and this was a shot we’d put a lot of planning into, so we all just waited. And waited. And hunkered down against what was in fact a rather damp and cold morning, hoping that the farmer whose field we were in was going to be understanding when he got there, praying a little that the light would change. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I made us wait for over two hours, and finally the sun broke through for around 60 seconds. It was a beautiful moment but, unfortunately, not one that ever really worked on camera. The pictures were very lovely landscape shots, nice views of village life in the early morning, but there was nothing that made them clearly ‘toilet’ shots, to tell the story. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, back to the drawing board. Thankfully, there was a plan B. Back home I’d been practising shooting a friend’s shed, in the snow at night, to see if I could make something a bit special happen with an old lighting trick. It had seemed to work in Sheffield, but would it work in Hossana, Ethiopia?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9l3igO4T1W8/UsqHLjKATvI/AAAAAAAAAho/Kj0jgP3zOWI/s1600/Nat+Geo+pic+3073-2402-web-2_snapseed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9l3igO4T1W8/UsqHLjKATvI/AAAAAAAAAho/Kj0jgP3zOWI/s1600/Nat+Geo+pic+3073-2402-web-2_snapseed.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original photo (c) Richard Hanson/Toilet Twinning</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve been photographing and reporting on development issues for over twenty years now, covering tragedies such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the civil war in Sudan, through to wonderfully uplifting stories of hope in Bolivia and Cambodia. But I’ve never had so many emails, texts and Facebook messages as I received about the Toilet Twinning photo taken in Ethiopia. People got in touch saying they’d seen the picture on the door of a portable toilet at the New Wine festival, or at a motorway service station, and thousands more will have seen the advertisement in National Geographic. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">So now, finally, I am famous in my own little world, not for one of the world-changing news events I’ve covered, but for my picture of a toilet. And really, I think I can live with that.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>You can read more about how Richard Hanson set up the shot at his </i></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://hansonphoto.me/2013/09/27/ethiopian-night-light-how-it-was-made/" style="text-decoration: none;">blog</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>You can see his photographic project on public toilets <a href="http://www.hansonphoto.co.uk/pissed-off">here</a></i></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-4039889754140888212013-12-24T11:51:00.001+00:002013-12-24T11:53:45.743+00:00Thank you letter straight from our heart<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here at Toilet Twinning we’ve got lots to be thankful for, and it’s all down to you, our supporters. So instead of writing a letter to Santa at the North Pole, we’re putting a virtual pen to paper to say a resounding 'Thank You' to you all.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_jsrNLRzW-I/UrlvX8TODEI/AAAAAAAAAhU/sAziiITHt1E/s1600/Stamp_US_1977_13c_rural_mailbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_jsrNLRzW-I/UrlvX8TODEI/AAAAAAAAAhU/sAziiITHt1E/s1600/Stamp_US_1977_13c_rural_mailbox.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Letters in the post: US Christmas </span><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamp" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black;">postage stamp</span></span></a><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> depicting a mail box, issued on 21 October 1977</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back in November, we set out to encourage 50 generous people to twin their toilets on World Toilet Day, 19 November. Not only did you smash this record for us by about half way through the day, but by midnight we’d received 96 twinning requests! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tQELtWOGdCU/UrlvXEWWJ0I/AAAAAAAAAg8/zlyCWN-_PE4/s1600/Faroe_stamp_262_the_twelve_days_of_christmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tQELtWOGdCU/UrlvXEWWJ0I/AAAAAAAAAg8/zlyCWN-_PE4/s320/Faroe_stamp_262_the_twelve_days_of_christmas.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;">Generous gifts: Faroese stamp illustrating a traditional Christmas counting song. The gifts include: one feather, two geese, three sides of meat, four sheep, five cows, six oxen, seven dishes, eight ponies, nine banners and ten barrels</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">This month, generosity has overtaken you once again. Twins to date are more than 30% up on the same period last year. That’s a huge increase at a time when we know many people are planning a relatively frugal Christmas.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eIPRivJzBEg/UrlvXacUM0I/AAAAAAAAAhM/HUE92091g8s/s1600/Korean_Christmas_15_Hwan_Stamp_in_1960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eIPRivJzBEg/UrlvXacUM0I/AAAAAAAAAhM/HUE92091g8s/s320/Korean_Christmas_15_Hwan_Stamp_in_1960.JPG" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What's in the toe of the stocking? Christmas stamp issued by South Korea, </span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Arial; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1960 </span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">In fact you are now not far short of having twinned 20,000 toilets (we’re expecting to be able to make that announcement next month), which is a brilliant result when you consider it was only July when you passed the 15,000 milestone. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OIUUMHnge3g/UrlvWvd6JwI/AAAAAAAAAg0/YKXcwuzGaWE/s1600/484px-Happy_Christmas_Ukr_stamps_Angels_2007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="317" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OIUUMHnge3g/UrlvWvd6JwI/AAAAAAAAAg0/YKXcwuzGaWE/s320/484px-Happy_Christmas_Ukr_stamps_Angels_2007.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like an Angel: Two Christmas stamps from Ukraine, with a Kiev postmark</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t forget you can still twin toilets for last-minute presents, by downloading a voucher. The framed certificates will follow in the post. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KNHZMCbnQ5Y/UrlvLFZdUkI/AAAAAAAAAgY/QSAaIY2BRv0/s1600/19921121_15rub_Latvia_Postage_Stamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="259" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KNHZMCbnQ5Y/UrlvLFZdUkI/AAAAAAAAAgY/QSAaIY2BRv0/s320/19921121_15rub_Latvia_Postage_Stamp.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;">Presenting gifts: Postage stamp issued by Latvia in 1992 depicting the Christmas nativity: The Wise Men visit Jesus</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">But in the meantime, feel pleased with yourselves, and THANK YOU!</span></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-3012585112900713332013-11-18T11:15:00.000+00:002013-11-18T11:49:51.552+00:00Aid DOES make a difference<b id="docs-internal-guid-12f34fb6-6ac4-0ef6-a130-f7f822777809" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why not mark World Toilet Day, 19 November, by twinning a toilet you use - maybe in your office, or somewhere you visit like a cinema or cafe? It’s a great way to get the Toilet Twinning message out so that more people can help flush away poverty. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These stories from Ethiopia and Uganda spell out the benefits of having a clean, decent and accessible loo - something that 2.5 billion people worldwide are still without.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘Before we had a toilet, we were not interested in working in the fields, because the smell was pungent and the field was full of excrement,’ says Amanuel from Ethiopia. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yuguTj4Kw5o/UonthEhyolI/AAAAAAAAAf8/f7Vuf9VaSRo/s1600/Amanuel+&+Meselech.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yuguTj4Kw5o/UonthEhyolI/AAAAAAAAAf8/f7Vuf9VaSRo/s1600/Amanuel+&+Meselech.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amanuel and his wife Meselech with their two daughters and their latrine [photo: Richard Hanson/Toilet Twinning]</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now he and his wife Meselech cultivate cabbage, potato, tomato, carrots, beetroot and false banana to feed their family. What’s more, their two daughters have never suffered from diarrhoea. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The reason? Toilet Twinning funded Ethiopia’s Kale Heywet Church to show the couple how to build a latrine using local materials. They also gave them training and advice on keeping their bodies, house and compound healthy and hygienic, stressing the importance of using soap and clean water. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘After the toilet was built, our environment became clean and we wanted to work.’ says Amanuel, adding ‘Now, we are in the field and get fresh air. We are much healthier. My compound is clean. It makes me want to be productive.’ </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">William and Annette Nkwansibwe from Uganda also have a new latrine, which they built themselves, using materials found around their property and sticks they could buy locally.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LOZR7OIBUvo/Uontrkc577I/AAAAAAAAAgI/Esmwbz65Nq0/s1600/small++William+and+Annette+Nkwansibwe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LOZR7OIBUvo/Uontrkc577I/AAAAAAAAAgI/Esmwbz65Nq0/s320/small++William+and+Annette+Nkwansibwe.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William and Annette Nkwansibwe [photo Vernon Kingsley/Toilet Twinning]</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the real difference in their lives now is that they also have the knowledge to go with the latrine: they know they need to keep their latrine enclosed and to wash their hands. They also know they need to keep their cleaning and drinking water separate. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now they rarely get sick. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This gift of knowledge, this fresh confidence, came through Toilet Twinning’s Ugandan partner the Diocese of Kigezi, which has been running its water and sanitation programme in Kabale district for more than 35 years.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Through Toilet Twinning funding, the Diocese of Kigezi were also able to teach Ugandan mother Vivien Birunga to build a latrine. They added in hygiene and handwashing education too. 'I don't need to borrow money to pay for medicine since having my latrine and learning about hygiene,' she says. A little bit of knowledge has saved Vivien an awful lot of money. More than that, it’s given her dignity and hope. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thank you for supporting Toilet Twinning.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">World Toilet Day, 19 November </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-48486283557842520932013-11-11T16:17:00.001+00:002013-11-11T16:17:26.222+00:00Guerrilla Twinning Puts a Tiger in the Toilet <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Skelmersdale’s St Paul’s Church of England Church is indulging in a bit of friendly fire for this year’s World Toilet Day, 19 November. The church, which has already twinned its own loos with latrines in Burundi, is now spearheading some ‘guerrilla twinning’ of toilets in its local community. A harvest festival collection of £500, made into a toilet bowl naturally, kicked off the fundraising activities which have also included a screening of the film ‘Flushed Away’.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5x_Mz4pkgNE/UoD_qFdcATI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/8vUiYZ85g_4/s1600/Toilet+Twinning_Rev+Spittle+and+Tiger+in+the+Jungle+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5x_Mz4pkgNE/UoD_qFdcATI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/8vUiYZ85g_4/s320/Toilet+Twinning_Rev+Spittle+and+Tiger+in+the+Jungle+1.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Spittle gets close to a tiger in a toilet at The Jungle soft play area</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reverend Chris Spittle, vicar of St Paul’s, explained the reason behind this unusual activity: ‘Toilet Twinning is a great way to strengthen our links with the community while doing something tangible to help people overseas, and the way that it has all snowballed is rather incredible.’ </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More than 15,000 people in the UK have already twinned their toilets, but St Paul’s Church is bringing a new twist to the idea. Church members drew up a ‘hitlist’ of loos in their local community which they wanted to donate Toilet Twinning certificates to, and then voted for their favourites.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v-wlKdNMOvg/UoEBIkXAWdI/AAAAAAAAAfk/v8oqVS6MDuM/s1600/Toilet+Twinning+St.+Paul's+5crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v-wlKdNMOvg/UoEBIkXAWdI/AAAAAAAAAfk/v8oqVS6MDuM/s320/Toilet+Twinning+St.+Paul's+5crop.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young people from St Paul's vote for their favourite Skelmersdale places to be added to the 'hitlist' for guerrilla twinning</td></tr>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘When we approached our “targets” to ask their permission some thought that we were asking them to pay, which actually they were willing to do, so we had to explain that St Paul’s was doing this as a gift to them,’ said Mr Spittle.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Judging by the reaction so far, the idea is going down a storm. The town’s Ecumenical Centre, The Greenhill Community Hub, and Trinity Church of England/Methodist Primary School in Kiln Lane, are all accepting twins with latrines overseas. Asda supermarket in Ingram, The Jungle soft play area in Westgate, and West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper, are also delighted to be on St Paul’s invitation list. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘Everyone has been really enthusiastic and loved the idea and most of the recipients are now talking about twinning the rest of their toilets.’ Mr Spittle said, adding: ‘Our church Beavers, Cubs and Scouts suggested doing a sponsored sit on the toilet in the foyer of Asda. The Asda staff liked the idea so much, they’re talking about doing the same thing so that they can twin all of their staff toilets.’ </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0HXxVV38_vo/UoEBVvaU27I/AAAAAAAAAfw/3eufuC5iC40/s1600/Toilet+Twinning_cubs+and+scouts+crop+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0HXxVV38_vo/UoEBVvaU27I/AAAAAAAAAfw/3eufuC5iC40/s320/Toilet+Twinning_cubs+and+scouts+crop+.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beavers, Cubs and Scouts start their fundraising 'toilet sit' in the foyer of Asda Skelmersdale<br />(all photos: St Paul's Skelmersdale)</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Helen Broady, Community Life Champion for Asda Skelmersdale, explained why the church’s gift had spurred them to make more latrine links: 'It's a privilege to accept the toilet twinning, because we do a lot of work in the local community but this gives us the chance to do something international. It's a great way for us to reach farther afield.'</span><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-67561260943265197082013-10-22T12:30:00.001+01:002013-10-22T12:30:52.574+01:00Undercarriage Urgency <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Four out of 10 public toilets are reported to have closed in the past decade, increasing our collective fear of being ‘caught short’. And aside from embarrassment, there could be more serious implications for those with existing health issues who urgently need a private pit stop. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What’s more, The Stroke Association’s Dr Clare Walton, says ‘not being able to empty your bladder could potentially cause a temporary increase in blood pressure which could put some individuals at risk of stroke.' </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BSfVD0gBM8I/UmZf6Wf-oCI/AAAAAAAAAe4/Gud_OkiXLsM/s1600/RS39024_ETH2013_LET_0347-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Public latrine in Ethiopia" border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BSfVD0gBM8I/UmZf6Wf-oCI/AAAAAAAAAe4/Gud_OkiXLsM/s320/RS39024_ETH2013_LET_0347-web.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Few and far between: public toilets, such as this roadside example, are a rarity in Ethiopia. <br />Could the UK be going the same way? <br />Photo: Louise Thomas/Tearfund</td></tr>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-4def5696-dfe5-d708-1370-10730abaeee3" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Other recent news has highlighted the shocking truth that ‘flying care’ has become so swift that housebound dependent people are having to choose between asking for a drink or a toilet visit in the care provider’s turnaround time.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meanwhile, many health professionals, from urologists to bowel cancer specialists, expend considerable effort to get us to open up about our undercarriage problems and get abnormalities checked out sooner rather than later.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course, most of us in the developed world are blessed with good healthcare and access to private toilets most of the time. In the world’s poorer countries this is unlikely to be the case for many people. Consider being a mother who can’t hold urine or bowel content owing to fistula (a hole between the birth passage and an internal organ such as the bladder or rectum, caused by complications in labour) or a child with diarrhoea, or an elderly person with low mobility and a weak bladder - and not having access to a latrine.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But perhaps between us we can harness our health fears, our social embarrassment fears, our professional knowledge of healthcare, or our love of fitness and exercise and channel these energies into spreading the word about Toilet Twinning. And maybe if you work in the health field, whether for the NHS, a private health provider or a fitness organisation such as a health or </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sports club, you could start fundraising to twin a toilet?</span></div>
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-91618246148119182212013-09-16T12:48:00.000+01:002013-09-16T15:19:47.231+01:00Doing the defecation walk<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You don’t imagine, when you send your child off to school in the morning, that they are going to spend the afternoon doing a ‘defecation walk’. But that’s just what happened to pupils from Teddington’s St Mary’s and St Peter’s CE Primary School at the end of the summer term.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZOpVfcbfWw8/Ujbs1BjmgrI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/2Sp5WzRlY-Y/s1600/IMG_5808crop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZOpVfcbfWw8/Ujbs1BjmgrI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/2Sp5WzRlY-Y/s320/IMG_5808crop.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doing the defecation walk. [all photos Louise Thomas/Tearfund]</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">The school, which is situated opposite Tearfund’s HQ, has enthusiastically taken up the Toilet Twinning challenge and aims to twin all 43 of their loos. So Tearfund’s water and sanitation expert, Frank Greaves, thought they should be treated to some insider knowledge. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Setting out his collection of plastic poo (sourced from a local joke shop) in Tearfund’s sunny courtyard, he invited his visitors to consider the hazards of open defecation. Fortunately, the model faeces were not so realistic as to attract the London bluebottle brigade. But Mr Greaves had strategically sited them next to children’s toys, a water source and some food, to explain the risks to his fascinated crowd. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LVm6E3Pt9sc/Ujbs2OyYnQI/AAAAAAAAAeY/PaqGiQusGdc/s1600/IMG_5769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LVm6E3Pt9sc/Ujbs2OyYnQI/AAAAAAAAAeY/PaqGiQusGdc/s320/IMG_5769.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poo and play: not a good mix</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Moving swiftly on, he challenged the visitors to a bit of maths while getting their hands wet. His scheme was to allow the nine pupils to wash their hands in a variety of ways: with a standard tap, a watering can, water from a jerry can fitted with a tap, or a tippy tap. This last is a small water-filled jerry can suspended from a branch or post, with a hole in its lid. Lacking a branch, Mr Greaves had seconded what looked like a keyboard stand, but it did the job and added a certain something to the sense of rhythm. Tipping the can lid downwards allows a small quantity of water to come out, while letting go rights the balance and saves the remaining water. Sophisticated models can be tipped by means of a treadle on a string, with soap on another string alongside.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OynQ0_BsnzU/Ujbs82tlhfI/AAAAAAAAAeo/ZgK32V4DdWQ/s1600/IMG_5771crop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OynQ0_BsnzU/Ujbs82tlhfI/AAAAAAAAAeo/ZgK32V4DdWQ/s320/IMG_5771crop.JPG" width="264" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tip up that tippy tap</td></tr>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Naturally, this being a learning experience, the quantity of water used for each hand washing method had to be recorded on a clipboard. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UHseX1yVWAE/Ujbs4V8AQrI/AAAAAAAAAek/PvUIhJcPEQs/s1600/IMG_5814crop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UHseX1yVWAE/Ujbs4V8AQrI/AAAAAAAAAek/PvUIhJcPEQs/s320/IMG_5814crop.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here are the results:</span></b><br />
<b id="docs-internal-guid-1ecee733-2697-51d8-2ac7-0b7fe37c5e7c" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
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<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="202"></col><col width="200"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid #000000; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Water source for </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hand washing</span></div>
</td><td style="border: 1px solid #000000; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Average quantity of water </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">used per person</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid #000000; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tap</span></div>
</td><td style="border: 1px solid #000000; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1300 ml</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid #000000; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Watering can</span></div>
</td><td style="border: 1px solid #000000; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">500 ml</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid #000000; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jerry can with tap</span></div>
</td><td style="border: 1px solid #000000; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">325 ml</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid #000000; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tippy tap</span></div>
</td><td style="border: 1px solid #000000; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">150 ml</span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So the tippy tap was the clear winner, which is just as well because it has the best name. But only a wild optimist or maybe an extreme kind of eco warrior would expect us all to rig tippy taps up in UK homes. Instead, here’s a tip: when hand washing, wet your hands, switch the tap off while you soap them and switch it on again to rinse. It’s a tippy tappy-esque way to reduce consumption for those of us without the real thing.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But back in the sunny courtyard, Mr Greaves had a serious message to impart to the nine from over the road. He wanted them to know that understanding </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">why</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> you are doing something helps you to adopt it wholeheartedly, no matter whether you are in London or Liberia.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So when Toilet Twinning gets alongside people in communities overseas where there is no proper sanitation, it invites them to question traditionally-held beliefs and customs. There is no need for plastic poo for the defecation walks because there is plenty of the real thing. And flies a-go-go. People are challenged to consider how much time they spend collecting water and what they could be doing instead, such as growing food or going to school. They are introduced to the connection between a lack of decent sanitation and diarrhoea, a major cause of child mortality in our world. And they already know how costly medicines are, but they need to gain a realistic hope of good health.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And the result is they are brought to a place where they want to put time into building latrines or improving access to clean water - for example by using water filters - which they will manage and maintain. Knowledge is power wherever you are!</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you have connections with a school, why not ask if you can give a Toilet Twinning talk using our assembly plan and resources - including our popular poo stickers - here: </span><a href="http://www.toilettwinning.org/resources/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.toilettwinning.org/resources/</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-60136884091257164352013-08-27T12:42:00.000+01:002013-08-27T12:42:42.850+01:00Latrines, lifelines and links: the view from Ethiopia<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘I was persistently sick. One time, the sickness lasted three months and I came near to death. Our lives are very greatly changed because we have a toilet. We still struggle to grow enough to eat and life is hard, but the toilet has made such a difference.’ </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-56c3e090-bf81-94cb-17fa-8da0221366cf" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These are the words of Ethiopian Tirame Ayago (55 years old), and they illustrate the enormous benefits of gaining access to a latrine. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nx6Z6V2miSk/UhyMDIujO-I/AAAAAAAAAd4/mYpuwCXlONA/s1600/Web_Tirame_RHanson_3073-1835+ed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nx6Z6V2miSk/UhyMDIujO-I/AAAAAAAAAd4/mYpuwCXlONA/s320/Web_Tirame_RHanson_3073-1835+ed.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tirame outside her latrine [photo: Richard Hanson/Toilet Twinning]</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">Toilet Twinning wanted to take a peep behind the scenes to find out about the thinking that goes into bringing about changes like these. So we asked Tadesse Dadi, Tearfund’s programme support advisor based in Ethiopia, to write this blog:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P6fD3WIdXV4/UhyMc7DUl1I/AAAAAAAAAeA/iOWs9F44DG4/s1600/RS39009_ETH2013_LET_0015-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P6fD3WIdXV4/UhyMc7DUl1I/AAAAAAAAAeA/iOWs9F44DG4/s320/RS39009_ETH2013_LET_0015-web.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tadesse Dadi [photo: Louise Thomas/Tearfund]</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My daughter has just completed her high school in Addis Ababa with very good exam results. This was a great joy for the whole family and we praised God for it. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I still remember the first day my wife and I took her to nursery school. She was very happy and was looking forward to playing with the other children and finding new toys. A week or so later, though, we had to keep her at home for a few days until she recovered from a bout of diarrhoea. It was clear that poor hygiene and sanitation at the school were the cause of this.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Those of us who have had the privilege of bringing up babies and infants know how vulnerable they are to infection in their early years. Poor nutrition and unhealthy environments associated with poverty take a huge toll on young lives. The statistics are alarming: pneumonia and diarrhoea are leading killers of the world’s youngest children, accounting for 18 and 11 per cent of deaths respectively. This equates to more than two million lives lost each year. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene are all contributory factors. Together they account for nearly 90 per cent of deaths due to diarrhoea worldwide. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I recently learnt about the ‘F’ diagram, which shows the route taken by disease-causing pathogens, from faeces to our food and water. These pathogens are helped along their way by fingers, fluids, flies, fields and floors. The first line of defence is to block the path of the pathogens through safe disposal of faeces - in other words, using latrines. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is not a new idea! In the Bible, God instructed the Israelites: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Deuteronomy 23:12-14, NIV). This is clear instruction to us to erect ‘primary’ barriers to prevent disease transmission. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We also know that handwashing with soap, particularly after using the toilet or changing nappies, is an essential habit for all of us. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So creating an understanding of the link between the way we dispose of faeces on the one hand, and killer diseases such as diarrhoea on the other, is the first step in tackling the problem. Once that understanding is created, then sustainable solutions to problems - such as taboos surrounding the use of pit latrines - usually come from within the communities we are working with.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On a recent visit to the Turkana area of Northern Kenya, I found awareness of the problems among the villagers, but a lack of action. Most of the 50 or so households in the village did not have pit latrines. So while the risk of open defecation was well understood, the cost of constructing a pit latrine was prohibitive.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As development practitioners we need to bring people to the point where they understand that investing in pit latrines saves lives, so that the solution is owned by the community, not imposed from outside.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Turkana a lady in the group I was talking to proposed a local way to reduce the latrine cost. She drew a diagram on the sandy ground to show us that the top of the pit could be covered by locally available poles, with twigs and earth on top of them. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I left the area on a positive note, knowing that it is possible to save lives – by looking for local solutions. Enabling people to solve their own problems truly empowers them to be creative. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thank you Tadesse!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">References:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council and World Health Organisation. 2005. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sanitation and Hygiene: programming guidance</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. WHO Press, Geneva.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">UNICEF. 2012. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pneumonia and diarrhoea: Tackling the deadliest diseases for the world’s poorest children.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> New York. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.childinfo.org/publications" style="text-decoration: none;">www.childinfo.org/publications</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council. 2010 . </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hygiene and sanitation software: an overview of approaches</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Geneva</span></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-69866675142037420032013-07-02T15:17:00.001+01:002013-07-02T16:51:06.597+01:00Reasons to be cheerful<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jolly Rwomushana, a Ugandan mother of three, has reasons to celebrate. Her family life has been transformed thanks to Toilet Twinning. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W5KQVyUt5KE/UdLggjn_hOI/AAAAAAAAAdk/Sr7QlDr8bDE/s1457/use+this+Jolly+Rwomushana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W5KQVyUt5KE/UdLggjn_hOI/AAAAAAAAAdk/Sr7QlDr8bDE/s320/use+this+Jolly+Rwomushana.jpg" width="311" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jolly outside her latrine. Photo: Vernon Kingsley</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">For years her children, aged six, 14 and 19, suffered frequent bouts of sickness thanks to diarrhoea and worms. And in the dry period, March to October, lack of clean water meant conjunctivitis spread like wildfire. Her family was part of an uncomfortable statistic: more than 30% of rural Ugandans have no access to decent drinking water.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And although they had a latrine, its lack of roof afforded no privacy. Instead it offered up swarms of flies, which flitted back and forth to their kitchen area.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sickness frequently ruled out regular school attendance for the children. The family found themselves in a time-consuming round of hospital trips, expensive medical fees and equally expensive medicines. And time spent away from their fields brought risk of reduced yields, which they could ill afford.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But then Toilet Twinning was able to help through its Ugandan development partner Diocese of Kigezi. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-wrap;">It showed the family how to construct a proper latrine and taught them the importance of hygiene and handwashing. Simple measures such as covering a latrine with a cap and a stick handle, to guard against flies, can make a huge difference to health.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What’s more, the Diocese have helped villagers construct a giant rainwater harvesting tank at the school, so the children can have clean water there.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life is no picnic for Jolly, even now. Recent scant rainfall has caused the rainwater tanks to run low, so the children have to bring in their own water to school - water which takes time to collect.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But among the life-saving lessons learnt, her children now know water needs to be boiled before it can be used for hand-washing and drinking. And that simple process alone makes all the difference in the world, not just to the children’s health but also to their future.</span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181540789028715659.post-2849594453547264842013-06-07T13:42:00.000+01:002013-06-07T13:42:36.776+01:00School Support Report<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most of us probably have some toilet-related memories from our schooldays. And they may not necessarily be happy ones! </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-220b3acb-1e87-9491-7753-7abf691545e8" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But for many school pupils round the UK today, toilets are becoming synonymous with twinning thanks to their enthusiastic adoption of Toilet Twinning as a focus for fundraising.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s a natural partnership - toilet humour ranks pretty high on the junior school joke list. And older students don’t forget the serious nature of the problem: for example, in Africa, half of young girls who drop out of school do so because they need to collect water, often from many miles away. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So while many schools have been fundraising hard, and having fun into the bargain, it’s also great to hear news of some help they’ve had along the way from others. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FDeXgjKa1Ec/UbHNd7-yqCI/AAAAAAAAAdY/G0P9z1Ktlys/s1600/Seddon+-+Etone+College+-+toilet+twinning+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FDeXgjKa1Ec/UbHNd7-yqCI/AAAAAAAAAdY/G0P9z1Ktlys/s320/Seddon+-+Etone+College+-+toilet+twinning+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Etone College students show off their Toilet Twinning certificates . They are joined by Seddon Construction staff in the new school block.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nuneaton’s Etone College are shortly going to be enjoying a new ten-classroom block and library, with office and toilets. Their construction company Seddon seized the chance, while on site, to twin three of the school’s toilets. Pupils have taken delivery of the certificates showing their twinned latrines in DRC, Nepal and Sierra Leone. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meanwhile, on the Somerset coast, two Clevedon schools have benefited from some fabulous fundraising at their local churches. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christchurch and St Andrew’s Church beat a baker’s dozen: they raised enough money to twin not only their own 13 toilets, but also to donate twinnings to St Nicholas Chantry School and Mary Elton School. Miniature toilet-shaped collecting boxes were given to church members, who were asked to 'spend a penny' or, better still, 'spend a pound' to fill them up. The total raised - £1,359 - was way beyond expectations: a testament to the generosity of the churchgoers and their enthusiastic support of Toilet Twinning. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fSBSlVgNpAw/UbHM7X9EolI/AAAAAAAAAdM/GLPaPzyJ1cM/s1600/Clevedon+Extreme+team+crop.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fSBSlVgNpAw/UbHM7X9EolI/AAAAAAAAAdM/GLPaPzyJ1cM/s320/Clevedon+Extreme+team+crop.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young people from Clevedon fundraised enthusiastically for Toilet Twinning, and a golden loo brush was awarded as a quiz prize</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Further east, Sussex Coast College students have also been hard at work, and have raised enough to twin six toilets so far, with another two likely before the end of term. Lay chaplain Barbara Powell-Jones helped the cause by making and selling almost 200 lavender bags. As the name ‘lavender’ derives from the Latin </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>lavare</i></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>: to wash</i>, the connection with a sanitation charity (not to mention language lessons) was entirely appropriate! Proceeds from the bags were enough to achieve the first three twinnings for the college. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Younger children don't get forgotten either. Bevan Lodge pre-school in Farnborough recently refurbished their toilets - and a generous parent twinned the new loos. Kate Jamieson, chair of the school’s management committee, said, ‘It seemed like the perfect opportunity to broaden the children’s knowledge while supporting a worthy cause.’</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thanks to everyone who has encouraged their local schools and colleges to help flush away poverty through Toilet Twinning. And don’t forget, there are lots of useful resources for schools on our website at </span><a href="http://www.toilettwinning.org/resources/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.toilettwinning.org/resources/</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0