It began as a potty idea. A way of helping some of Africa’s poorest families to have the basics in life - including a toilet.

But the first global Toilet Twinning Campaign has captured imaginations the world over. From schools in the South Pacific to councils in the Hebrides; cathedrals in the Shires to royal societies in the Metropolis, all have twinned their loos with a latrine deep in the bush of Burundi.

Homes and offices, cafes and village halls, fire stations and sports arenas now proudly display a CORD toilet twinning certificate in their smallest room.

As we head to the 1000th twinning, some £60,000 has been raised to flush away poverty in this war torn country. To provide basic sanitation for people rebuilding their lives after 14 years in exile and so enable them to stay healthy, to go to school, to work and to develop their country.

And hopefully to live in peace. CORD – Building peace on earth.

The Ricoh Arena and Coventry City have twinned the club’s boardroom toilets at the multi-purpose venue with a school toilet block in Burundi.

It is part of the World’s First Toilet Twinning project which is being run by Leamington-based charity CORD to transform the lives of people who have returned to Burundi after their country’s civil war.

A framed photo of School Latrine Block Number Six in Giharo, Rutana Province which will provide sanitation for over 500 children has been placed in the gent’s of the club boardroom.

Daniel Gidney, chief executive of the Ricoh Arena, said this was a fun scheme with a serious message.

“This is an idea that is literally saving lives,” he said. “Burundian people are starting to return to their country having sought sanctuary in refugee camps in Tanzania for the last 15 years."

“Land has been desecrated and infrastructure severely damaged and building toilet blocks in schools are part of the rebuilding process.

“This twinning will make a real difference and I would encourage other organisations in the region to get involved.”

The cleaning industry is being urged to sign up to the first global Toilet Twinning Campaign by linking Britain’s public loos with their very own ‘twin’ latrine deep in the African bush.

There was plenty of enthusiasm for the innovative idea at the Annual Loo of the Year Awards, where the five star toilet award winners saw the potential for promoting the cause in their ladies and gents facilities. Celebrity guest and Master magician Paul Daniels lent his support by incorporating the idea into his act at the ceremony, held at the National Motor Cycle Museum.

‘To engage with Toilet Twinning has to be a no brainer for anyone involved in the cleaning industry,’ said CORD Director Richard Dickson. ‘We have such wonderful public facilities in this country and I would urge everyone to support us and make a real difference to the lives of people who have arrived home with literally nothing.’

The event attracted more than 300 delegates from the UK’s railways, hotels, department stores, major supermarket and food outlet chains, holiday camps, caravan parks ,tourist attractions and council run public conveniences.

So far some 940 individuals, schools, cathedrals, businesses, organisations and major venues from around the globe have twinned their toilets, raising over £56,000 for CORD’s programme and providing a loo for 5,640 people.

Dentists at the Chipping Manor Dental Practice in Gloucestershire are the first of their profession to sign up their surgery loos to Toilet Twinning .

‘Our two NHS practices in Wotton under Edge and Cirencester have ten dentist and nurse teams and 23,000 patients and this has really captured their imagination,’ said Shaenna Loughnane, Business Development Director.

‘Our patients and staff take our clean safe toilets for granted, and for £60 we can make a tiny difference. This is the same amount that we spend on 20 boxes of gloves that lasts a dental team 2 weeks. It would be great if we could motivate others in the dental industry to jump on board; practices spend thousands every year on infection control and health and safety when people in these war-torn areas are dying from diseases that could be stopped if only they had clean, safe toilets,’ added Shaenna.

The dentists and their staff have already raised thousands for African and local charities; ten team members have also visited Tanzania to lend their dental skills as well as giving ten per cent of their private income to good causes.

‘But Toilet Twinning has to be the one that’s got everyone talking,’ laughed Shaenna.

West Midland firefighters have signed up to the first global Toilet Twinning Campaign to mark World Toilet Day. The ladies and gents at the Fire Service Training Centre in Smethwick are now linked with their very own ‘twin’ latrine deep in the African bush.

Toilet Twinning is being seen as a potty way to make money and flush away poverty and is the brainchild of Midland charity CORD which works in Africa and Asia with the victims of war and violent conflict. For just £60 every twinner receives a picture of their exclusive twin latrine to hang in their loo, complete with its Google Earth location so they can pinpoint it in the remote Rutana Province of Burundi.

40 per cent of the world populations - 2.6 billion people don’t have access to a toilet. Left lying around human waste is a killer and the latrines, scattered amongst hill villages are being built by families returning after 14 years exile in the refugee camps of neighbouring Tanzania. Made of hand made bricks and with corrugated roofs, concrete slabs and deep pits the latrines are bringing sanitation and improved health to thousands of people who lost everything in the long civil war.

‘Firefighters by their nature are always willing to help people regardless of who they are or where they live. This issue touched the hearts of the West Midlands Service and we saw this as an easy way to make a difference,’ said Group Commander Mark Taylor, Head of Incident Command.

So far some 750 families, schools, cathedrals, businesses and venues from around the globe have twinned their toilets, raising over £50,000 for CORD’s programmes. Meanwhile the Millennium Development Goals for sanitation will not be met until the 22nd century - that’s 80 years after the deadline.

To support the World’s First Toilet Twinning log on to www.toilettwinning.org or call 01926 315301

World’s original think tank signs up its London loos

One of the world’s most prestigious centres of creative thinking, the Royal Society of Arts, has joined the ranks of global Toilet Twinners by linking their public loos with latrines in the tiny war torn country of Burundi.

Since UK based peace building organisation CORD launched its quirky fundraiser to improve sanitation in the African bush for thousands of Burundians returning home after 14 years in exile, more than 650 twinners – companies, individuals, cathedrals and bishops from Kuwait to Palermo, Australia to Albuquerque have signed up, raising some £50,000 to date.

For over 250 years the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce has been a cradle of enlightened thinking. Founded in 1754 it boasts 27,000 Fellows - all achievers and influencers from every field with a real commitment to progressive social change.

Shirley Gibson, Facilities Manager at their historic London headquarters says ‘The RSA has been at the forefront of creative thinking for centuries. Toilet twinning is just that, an imaginative approach to highlighting a desperate global need.’

‘We had no hesitation in twinning our toilets and are delighted at the world wide support the campaign is receiving. We hope that by displaying the twinning plaque in our public toilets we will encourage clients and visitors to join the ranks of toilet twinners,’ she added.

The legendary sanitary ware company Thomas Crapper has joined CORD’S global Toilet Twinning movement, linking three of its traditional high quality loos with three latrines deep in the African bush.

The famous Victorian’s name won him a place in history, but he is wrongly credited with inventing the WC. In reality the Yorkshire born plumber was Britain’s superior sanitary engineer of his day, holding four royal warrants and supplying plumbing and fittings for the Sandringham estate as well as fittings at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey. He also pioneered the idea of bathroom showrooms.

Today the company continues to operate from Stratford upon Avon serving a world wide clientele. Managing Director Simon Kirby, who bought the company in l999 and began re-manufacturing the products created a century ago, said he was delighted to be a part of toilet twinning.

‘Thomas Crapper was a great sanitary pioneer who over a hundred years ago brought sanitation to the people of Britain. It is shocking that all this time later almost half of the people in the world still don’t have a crapper of their own,’ added Simon. ‘I am proud to be the first loo manufacturer to become a Toilet Twinner!’

http://www.thomascrapper.co.uk

The award-winning logistics business ByBox has twinned three of the toilets in its Coventry distribution centre.

‘We may be living in challenging economic times in the UK, but when you hear and see how families are having to cope without even a basic toilet, it puts everything into perspective,’ said ByBox’s CEO Stuart Miller (left in picture).

‘Our toilets are something we take for granted in this country, so I hope lots of other businesses will follow ByBox’s example and see that toilet twinning is a fun way we can all ‘engage’ in the serious business of helping people to improve their lives,’ he added.

Twinners from Sacramento to Tasmania, from Palermo to Kuwait, have signed up to the World’s First Toilet Twinning.

The global initiative launched by UK based charity CORD  twins loos in the developed world with latrines in the African bush.

Some 500 twinners are now actively engaged in this novel campaign to improve sanitation for Burundian families returning home after years in exile.

The next exclusive set of 600 latrines in remote Giharo Commune are now available to twin.

All twinners pay just £60 for a picture of their latrine and the coordinates to track its exact location via Google Earth.

The King’s Table Café in Kenilworth is urging customers and shoppers to twin their toilets with latrines in the African bush.

Pictures of loos in the tiny country of Burundi filled the café window and leaflets litter the tables in support of the World’s First Toilet Twinning. Mark King of The King’s Table has twinned the café’s loo for just £60 and is encouraging everyone in Kenilworth to do likewise.

‘This is a great way to show how we all have the same human needs and how easy it is for us to take such things as basic sanitation for granted,’ said Mark. ‘Without toilets people get ill, they can’t work or go to school – and it’s impossible to get back on their feet. I hope everyone will see what we are doing at the café and want to join in.’

Pictured: King’s Table staff Tricia Jones, David Hewitt & Karen Mills

Customers of Midland retailer Modern Homes will join the World’s first Toilet Twinners when they purchase a bathroom - and link their new loo with one deep in the African bush. MD Tina Riley says her Leamington Spa company will donate the twinnings to help improve hygiene and sanitation in the tiny war torn country of Burundi.

Toilet Twinning is being seen as a potty way to make money and flush away poverty and is the brainchild of UK International charity CORD –based in Leamington- which works in Africa and Asia with the victims of war and violent conflict. For just £60 twinners can help a family returning home to a country ravaged by years of civil war to start again from scratch. Every twinner receives a picture of their exclusive twin latrine to hang in their loo, complete with its Google Earth location so they can pinpoint it in the remote Rutana Province of Burundi.

40 per cent of the world’s population- 2.6 billion people don’t have access to a toilet, yet the Millennium Development Goals for sanitation will not be met until the 22nd century- that’s 80 years’ past the deadline.

Left lying around human waste is a killer and without proper sanitation and health training, Burundians can’t hope to keep well, to work, go to school and begin to rebuild their country.
‘We are undergoing the current economic crisis here, but when you hear and see how families are having to cope, with no homes and no sanitation, I think it’s about time we put something back,’ said Tina.

‘I hope the industry will follow my example and see that twinning is a fun way we can all ‘engage’ in the serious business of improving these people’s lives,’ she added.

Since its launch last week Toilet Twinning has taken off with twinners from the USA, Canada, Australia and NZ joining the campaign. The Toilet Twinning movement is also endorsed by CORD Ambassador Corinne Bailey Rae, The Royal Shakespeare Company and the West Midlands Fire Service.

‘It’s the children who suffer the most with shortened life spans, missed schooling and illness due to living with untreated sewage’ said Corinne. ‘In Burundi having a toilet is literally saving lives. I would encourage everyone to get twinning!’

The Bishop of Coventry has become one of the World’s first Toilet Twinners- linking his loo with its ‘twin’ deep in the African bush.

The Rt. Reverend Christopher Cocksworth today invited the press into his smallest room at the Bishop’s House, and proudly displayed the picture of his exclusive twin latrine, complete with its Google Earth location so he can pinpoint it in the remote Rutana Province of Burundi.

Toilet Twinning – a global CORD initiative - is being seen as a potty way to make money and flush away poverty. For just £60 twinners can help a family returning home to a country ravaged by years of civil war to start again from scratch.

‘Its’ a bog standard idea with a great message,’ said Bishop Christopher. ’40 per cent of the world’s population- 2.6 billion people - don’t have access to a toilet and it’s hard to imagine what that must be like. Left lying around human waste is a killer and without proper sanitation and health training, Burundians can’t hope to keep well, to work, go to school and begin to rebuild their country.’

The Toilet Twinning campaign is also endorsed by CORD Ambassador Corinne Bailey Rae and has won support from the Royal Shakespeare Company and the West Midlands Fire Service who have signed up to twin their loos.

‘It’s the children who suffer the most with shortened life spans, missed schooling and illness due to living with untreated sewage’ said Corinne. ‘In Burundi having a toilet is literally saving lives. I would encourage everyone to get twinning!’

Major Midland chartered accountancy firm Harrison Beale and Owen have become quadruple Toilet Twinners.
Director Mark Ashfield said the numbers around the worldwide lack of toilets were astounding.

‘Redressing the balance sheet through Twinning our visitor and office loos is a no brainer,’ he added.

Check out the Coventry Evening Telegraph's item on Toilet Twinning.  It's great to see them dropping some good toilet puns in there too!

"In a bid to flush Third World poverty down the pan, Leamington-based charity Cord has lifted the lid on a pioneering scheme to twin toilets around the world."

Read the full article here...

Heart Print Management Ltd of Coventry have signed up on Day One of the World’s First Toilet Twinning.

MD Tony Herbert said:

I am delighted to have twinned our toilet at Heart Print Management.

We have recently moved premises and when we put the concept of twinning to  our two toilets , the Gent’s toilet said : “Charity begins at home you know. I already have to put up with the noxious smells that emanate from the staff, as well as the many visitors who come to your company. The last thing I want is to be twinned with some primitive bog in a far-flung part of the world, that I have never heard of. Go away with your bleeding heart.“

However the Ladies’ toilet said : “A great cause and a very inventive bit of fund-raising from our friends at Cord. I would be proud to have a twin in Burundi.”

Fortunately the staff at Heart Print have a similar mind-set to their ladies’ loo, and Tony Herbert, once he had recovered from the shock of the quite unwarranted abuse that was provided by his Gent’s was pleased to twin the Ladies’ loo  on behalf of the company.

He is hoping to have a quiet word with the Gents’ in due course and will be pleased to twin again if the damned lavatory can be talked out of his narrow and unfortunate views.

The World’s first toilet themed restaurant is to be found in Taiwan.

Toilet Dining is about sitting on a toilet seat, serving your food from a toilet bowl or a bidet and wiping your mouth with toilet paper-looking napkins, practically everything you see around you has nothing to do with a real restaurant or kitchen, it’s all toilet- This diner is in Hangzhou, the capital of the Zhejiang province in China. . Spot the lady eating ice cream in the shape of excrement.

Gino Federici has been a singer in Las Vegas for the past 23 years. After leaving Las Vegas in February of 2008 he moved to the pleasant, quiet countryside of Michigan but was still searching for more meaning in his life.

While searching he came across a situation that he could never have imagined. 2.6 billion people, or 41% of the world population, do not have a toilet. It is something that he could not comprehend.

Gino is now the President/Founder of GOYA Charities, who support organisations who build toilets, wells and educate children in their benefit. Gino has also released this song which hammers home the need for good sanitation in some of the worlds least developed countries.

To find out more about Gino and GOYA, visit his website at http://isingfortoilets.org/

Take a look at these crazy toilets from around the world... and you thought our latrines were a bit different!