Why £60

Does it cost £60 to build a toilet?

It’s a common question, and the short answer is yes… But it’s not quite that simple!

We strongly believe 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.

So when you donate £60 to Toilet Twinning (thank you), it’s unlikely that your £60 will pay for a latrine pit and slab. It’s much more likely that you’ll be helping to fund an education process that involves relationships, community meetings and workshops.

If you haven’t yet twinned, please twin today!

Here’s an example…  

In Nepal, our partner could just drive into a village with materials and experts. They could just build toilets for people and drive off again. But they don’t.

They start by bringing villagers together to encourage them to create action groups. Over time, they plant the idea that change is possible – and that change rests in the community’s hands.

For many communities, hearing about the link between sanitation and  health is a revelation: a light bulb moment. Many have never known why diarrhoea is so common, and why their children have fallen ill or died.

Suddenly, they understand. And then they want a latrine – that they build themselves. Because a family who have built their own latrine is much more likely to use it and look after it.

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 an earthquake or typhoon), we do send in people with water and sanitation expertise to dig wells and build latrines.

Which brings us back to the question… ‘Does it cost £60 to build a toilet?’

In communities hit by disaster or conflict, the cost of providing a latrine is far higher than £60. In places where we are working long-term through local organisations, the cost is lower. Overall, the average cost per household for a water and sanitation programme is about £60.

If you twin your toilet, your £60 will spark an amazing chain reaction that is changing entire communities for ever. One light bulb moment, one latrine at a time.