Both the toilets in our church have been twinned with toilets in developing countries. This may sound like a bizarre thing for a church to do but please read on and you will see there is a reason why we did this.
Some startling facts:
- 1.7 billion people don’t have somewhere safe and hygienic to go to the toilet. (WHO/Unicef)
- 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.
- Every day, over 700 children under five die from diarrhoea linked to unsafe water, sanitation and poor hygiene.
- Today, 1 in 4 people around the world lack safe drinking water. (WHO/UNICEF 2021)
- Children worldwide miss 443 million school days each year because of dirty water and poor sanitation. (UN)
- Every year, women and girls spend 97 billion hours finding a place to go. (World Bank)
Toilet Twinning aims to address these issues – check out their website https://www.toilettwinning.org
We decided that at a cost of only £60.00 per loo there was a moral imperative to act. We are not a church with huge funds to spend but that does not excuse us from doing what we can, when we can. One of the things that Jesus teaches is that we should all look at the way we live critically and strive to do right by one another. A simple act such as this can have a large impact for others that we will never meet. We believe that the way we live our lives is important and as much a part of our faith as anything else.
If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
James 4-17
If you feel motivated to examine your life and perhaps make some changes come and see us on any Sunday.
Upper Studley Baptist Church 