Appledore church twinned... with loo in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Rev Tricia Fogden and Will Rolston with the
certificate twinning the church loo with one in
Gambia
by Tricia Jamieson
An unusual twinning arrangement links a Kent church
with a loo in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
For a £60 outlay, the toilet at St Peter and St Paul Church in
Appledore is linked with one in the Third World country
through the charities Tearfund and Cord.
They have set up toilet twinning to help transform lives in poor
communities across the world.
Appledore’s involvement was initially a mystery to vicar the Rev
Tricia Fogden.
She said: “A certificate informing us we were twinned with a loo
in Democratic Republic of Congo, with a picture of it, just
appeared in our toilet.”
“No-one seemed to know anything about it until it was raised at
a pariochial church council meeting.
“Member and
parishioner Will Rolfston said he had been at a Christian festival
and had seen a Tearfund stall with details of toilet twinning.
He paid the £60 on our behalf and put up the certificate when it
arrived, but forgot to tell anyone about it.”
She added: “The difference between the loos is that ours is nice
and warm and dry whereas the other one is a hut – a very nice one,
but just a hut. At least it is not a hole in the ground.
“It would be nice to arrange a twinning visit, but it is a long
way to go.”
The loo is in Mukolwe Village, South Kivu.
Tearfund and Cord use the money raised through toilet twinning
to help provide access to better sanitation, clean water and
hygiene education.
Toilets at home, work or school can be twinned through the one
off £60 payment.
Every year, the charities build thousands of loos around the
world.
When one is built, a photo is taken and its longitude and latitude
coordinates are recorded.
When a donation is made, a framed certificate of the toilet is
sent along with its GPS coordinates so it can be looked up.
For more information, go to www.toilettwinning.org
03/10/12
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