Spend a penny and flush away poverty
Scampton Church congregation has been spending loads of pennies! Some months ago we gave people collection boxes asking them to “Spend a penny and flush away poverty.” It seems that whenever we go to the toilet we now spend more than a penny because the boxes have been coming back brimming with silver coins!
Now our toilet at Scampton Church is twinned with this one at Mabilabo, Mzimba District, Malawi.
Why did we do it? Here are some very good reasons:
- 2.3 billion people don’t have somewhere safe and hygienic to go to the toilet.
- The lack of a loo makes women and girls a target for sexual attack as they go to the toilet in the open, late at night.
- Almost 1,000 children die every day from preventable diseases linked to dirty water and unsafe toilets.
- 663 million people live without safe water.
- Children worldwide miss 443 million school days each year because of dirty water and poor sanitation.
- Every year, women and girls spend 97 billion hours finding a place to go.
By twinning our toilet we have enabled a family to build a toilet, have access to clean water, and to learn about handwashing and other hygiene principles. Dignity is restored when the whole family can use a private, hygienic toilet at their home and no longer have to squat in the bush.
I don’t know about the toilet we are twinned with but often the waste can be used for compost by adding vegetation or ash after each use providing more sustainability. We have some more boxes promised so we can hopefully twin another toilet.
Personally, I would love to twin both the boys’ and girls’ toilets at Scampton Church School. Keep spending those pennies!
John Beverley