Balliol college JCR passed a motion on Sunday pledging to twin one of their loos with another block of toilets in a developing country. The JCR agreed to donate £240 to the clean sanitation charity Tearfund, as part of their ‘Toilet Twinning’ scheme. The College voted on the money specifi cally going towards the building of a toilet block in a displacement camp.
Balliol’s decision to twin its toilet follows a similar one taken by Hertford, who already run the scheme. The Toilet Twinning project aims to provide clean water, basic sanitation and hygiene education to the poorest countries in Africa and Asia, in the hope of improving toilet facilities and preventing the spread of disease.
Balliol JCR member Richard Ware, who proposed the motion at the College’s GM on Sunday, told Cherwell, “it is ridiculously easy to provide adequate sanitation: there will be a number in the Balliol bar loos to text to donate to a loo providing charity. Do some good when you poop.” The JCR motion stated “everyone should have access to clean, safe sanitary facilities” and “Hertford are currently making us look bad.” Balliol College will receive a certifi cate to put up in the chosen loo confi rming its participation in the scheme. Toilets taking part also get a photo of their twin latrine, and GPS coordinates of where in the world it is.
The motion suggested providing a ‘donate now by text’ number in the bar toilets which college members could use to donate directly to a toilet charity.
Ellie Rink, from the Toilet Twinning charity, said, “I am absolutely delighted that Balliol College has pledged to raise enough money for a School or IDP camp. In fact, I challenge the college to raise enough to twin all the toilets within its premises.”
She added, “If diff erent colleges are pledging to twin their toilets it would be great if they could all work together towards a greater goal.”The charity also runs a ‘Toilet Twinning University Scheme’ that encourages university-wide fundraising to twin as many toilets as possible.
Balliol College’s Charity reps Rivka Shaw and Sophie Conquest told Cherwell, “We were really pleased that Richard brought the motion, and that it was decided that a toilet block would be built in a displacement camp, which follows on from Balliol’s recent eff orts regarding the Refugee Scholarship.
“As Richard said in the General Meeting, it’s also a good way of generating further charitable donations as when people see the ‘twinning’ certifi cate they will hopefully be inspired to do something similar.”
According to Toilet Twinning, there are currently 2.4 billion people in the world that don’t have access to hygienic toilet facilities.
In twinning the toilet nearest the College bar with one on the other side of the world, Balliol College will help to build toilet facilities where access to clean water is limited. Since its creation, the scheme has helped to build 64,187 toilets around the world.
Toilet Twinning describes itself as a “simple, quirky way to solve a serious problem.” The charity funds “the work of international relief and Tearfund. This combination works together to prevent the spread of disease. With better health, men and women discover the potential that lies within them to bring transformation.”
