Students have been feeding up staff to raise money to provide loos in some of the world’s poorest countries.  Following an appeal to raise money for the Toilet Twinning Appeal, Ms Procter’s  tutor group decided to organise a fund-raising lunch.  Ms Procter said the students felt passionate about the Toilet Twinning scheme which is run by charities Tearfund and Cord to tackle the problem that 1 in 3 of people across the world do not have a toilet.

 

So to raise money the tutor group decided to each bring in a dish of food and charge staff £2 for helping themselves.  “We had a variety of food brought in - a juicy fruit salad from Cicely, beautiful homemade iced cup cakes from Miranda,  gorgeous tuna pasta from Ruth and many more,” explained Ms Procter.  “The students set up the table and presented the lunch.  The staff really thought it was a fabulous idea, they said the lunch was amazing and a bargain for the price of the ticket. All staff wanted a repeat lunch next year!”

 

The lunch raised the £60 needed to buy a toilet in countries such as Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cambodia. Other tutors groups have also been raising money for the charity.  “I’m extremely proud of the tutor group, that they each made an effort to bring some item or bowl of food and it was a great occasion enjoyed by all,” added Ms Procter.

 

What is toilet twinning?

UK-based charities Cord and Tearfund have linked up to bring you Toilet Twinning, a unique way to help transform lives in poor communities across the world.  When you twin your toilet you’ll receive a framed certificate of your toilet's twin, containing a photo, the latrine's location and its GPS coordinates so you can look it up on Google Maps.

 

Tearfund and Cord will use the money raised to help provide access to better sanitation, clean water and hygiene education – helping people enjoy better health, go to school and work, and ultimately, begin to flush away poverty.  Since the launch of Toilet Twinning in 2009, more than 1,600 latrines have been built in Burundi, providing safe loos for nearly 10,000 people. They have also received training on domestic hygiene and have access to clean water.