some of the WTD 2010 events, mapped by the World Toilet Organization

Fortunately, many activities on World Toilet Day this year also covered some less virtual protest, like the opening of the 30th school toilet in a Georgian kindergarten via Women in Europe for a Common Future and their Georgian partner RCDA:

“Not only are the new toilets indoors, as opposed to the previously used pit latrines, they are specifically adapted to children’s use, have hand washing facilities and most importantly; they do not smell.”

Right here in Germany, over 100 students from schools in Berlin together with the German Toilet Organization (GTO) drew the attention to the current situation in Haiti and reemphasised the importance of adequate sanitation. Haiti is currently experiencing a cholera epidemic which has already claimed over 1000 lives. Cholera is caused by substandard sanitation and hygiene.

Together with the German Toilet Organization (GTO), these youngsters protested at Berlin’s Alexanderplatz for a “Toiletised World”. With artistically designed toilet seats, bush toilets and other creative ideas, the students made their presence felt.

The German Federal Minister for Development Dirk Niebel applauded the students’ commitment to the World Toilet Day. Niebel explains that water and sanitation improvements remain a central focus of German international development work and goes beyond the current situation in Haiti. “Sustainable sanitation is essential, especially for children in order for them to grow up healthy and take part in education” the Minister stressed. “It is in schools where the foundations of behavioural changes in terms of hygiene and sustainable resource use are laid“.

Remember, World Toilet Day is celebrated on November 19 every year, and since EVERY HUMAN BEING HAS TO DEFECATE AND URINATE, a World Toilet Day affects all of use, rich and poor, sick or healthy.

So kudos to the World Toilet Organisation, Jack Sim and his dilligent team, for campaigning on- and offline & pushing the World Toilet Day on the international agenda!

Disclaimer: WTO, GTO and WECF are all partners of the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance.

The aim of the training sessions is to discuss how specific technological solutions and sociological approaches can be applied, as well as giving an insight into the particular problems that may serve to hinder successful project implementation. Focus will be on sanitation systems and hygiene awareness raising for schools and public facilities in developing countries.

For more information (in German) or to register, please visit the GTO homepage: www.germantoilet.org and see the following PDF (in German, 0.1 MB).

Updates concerning the seminar will be posted here (in German):
http://www.germantoilet.org/en/projects/ngo-training.html

Social media, online stuff – where’s the real action you ask?

Well, here it is:

The World’s Longest Toilet Queue Flickr Stream.

Enjoy!

The first step has been to carry out a sector-wide survey to identify the actors (specifically German development NGOs) that are active in these fields and to collect suggestions about how better communication and cooperation amongst those players can be achieved in the future.

The results of the survey will presented to all the organisations that have participated in the survey at a SanWat-Symposium planned for February / March 2010 in Berlin or Bonn. This will provide an opportunity for suggestions and ideas for joint network activities to be presented and discussed. More details, including the agenda and location, will be provided in good time.

To participate in the survey, please click on the link below.

German version: http://sanwat-network.limequery.org/index.php?sid=99747&lang=de

English version: http://sanwat-network.limequery.org/index.php?sid=99747&lang=en

“The guiding vision of Global Handwashing Day is a local and global culture of handwashing with soap. Although people around the world wash their hands with water, very few wash their hands with soap at the critical occasions.”

There even is a dedicated website for this cause with further information on why we actually need a Global Handwashing Day:

“Handwashing with soap is the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrheal and acute respiratory infections, which take the lives of millions of children in developing countries every year. Together, they are responsible for the majority of all child deaths. Yet, despite its lifesaving potential, handwashing with soap is seldom practiced and difficult to promote. (…) A vast change in handwashing behavior is critical to meeting the Millennium Development Goal of reducing deaths among children under the age of five by two-thirds by 2015.”

Have you already washed your hands with soap today?

Join us for a panel discussion to launch The Last Taboo*: Opening the Door on the Global Sanitation Crisis – a new book supported by UNICEF, on the global sanitation crisis

TOPIC: The ‘Great Stink’ of the 21st Century

Why do 1.5 million children die each year from diarrhoeal disease? Because tiny particles of excreta get into their mouths. How? Because 150 years after ‘The Great Stink of London’ brought about a sanitation revolution, 2.6 billion people – 40% of the global population – do not have a decent place to ‘go’ and their bodily wastes are left lying about. Diarrhoeal diseases are not ‘water-related’, they are ‘s**t-related’. Until we call a spade a spade, this scandal will continue.

2008 is the International Year of Sanitation, and now is the time to speak out boldly and open up the excretory frontier. Join the speakers to insist that ways be found to overcome the silence which inhibits the access of millions of people from that basic necessity for public health and human dignity – a toilet.

Speakers: Maggie Black, co-author of The Last Taboo; Professor Sandy Cairncross, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Girish Menon, International Operations Director at Water Aid, DFID speaker to be confirmed

When: 20th March 2008

Time: 1pm – 2:30pm

Venue: The Lucas Room, London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine, London, UK

Location map: www.lshtm.ac.uk/location

*About the book
The Last Taboo: Opening the Door on the Global Sanitation Crisis, by Maggie Black and Ben Fawcett, brings this neglected topic out of the closet. This highly readable book is aimed at all readers interested in the causes and consequences of this global sanitation crisis. Discounted copies will be available at the event. Those who can’t make it to the event can purchase copies online.

A Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in India has just claimed to be doing this. From January 15th 2008 onwards, users of a local toilet system based on ecological sanitation (ecosan) principles will be paid the sum of 10 paise* for each visit.

By doing this, the Society for Community Organization and Peoples Education (SCOPE) wants to create an awareness for the value of human waste: “urine and faeces are so rich in nutrients for farm production that they are worth buying”.

The first Ecosan Community Compost Toilet in the country in Saliyar Street is functioning for the past 18 months. Every fortnight on an average 250 liters of urine is collected, the same is used for farming purposes. Already the Tamilnadu Agricultural University is studying the use of urine as liquid fertilizer for the past one year, under an MoU signed by SCOPE with the University. WASTE of Netherlands has funded, Rs. 4 lakhs for the two-year research project. (src)

Apparently, this really is the first time anywhere in the world that toilet users are being paid. What a smart approach!

* 100 paise = 1 Indian rupee = 0,01774 EUR

With the launch of the up-coming International Year of Sanitation 2008 on Wednesday, November 21st 2007, and the World Toilet Day on November 19th, I am very pleased to launch the first blog dedicated to sanitation.

As this blog has just been created, please subscribe to this site and stay tuned for more updates within the next few days.